Counting is under way in the first phase of Saudi Arabia's elections to pick half the members of 38 municipal councils in the Riyadh region, in what will be the first ever nationwide poll in the country.
The votes were expected to be counted by tonight, but results are not likely to be announced before Saturday.
Women were barred from voting, but almost 150,000 men, representing 37% of an estimated 400,000 eligible voters in the capital and its surroundings, registered to cast their ballots.
Around 200 polling stations were set up for voters to choose
from a field of 1,818 candidates, 646 of whom stood in Riyadh proper to fill half of its 14-seat council.
Voting in the second round, which covers the Eastern Province and the southwest, will take place on 3 March.
Voters in the western regions of Mecca and Medina, as well as the northern regions, will go to the polls on 21 April.
Half the members of 178 municipal councils throughout the kingdom will be elected by these ballots.
The other half will be appointed by the government.
The ballot is part of a drive to introduce limited reforms, which the Saudi authorities insist must be tailored to Saudi specifications and not necessarily follow a Western pattern.
