Saudi Arabia ranked last among the Gulf states, according to an expert poll conducted by a think tank measuring political participation.
According to a poll conducted by the Center for Persian Gulf Studies and Publications, the first specialized research publication to measure the political participation index in the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia has a tyrannical monarchy.
According to the poll, Saudi Arabia ranked last in the index of political participation among the Persian Gulf countries due to the ban on public freedoms.
This specialized poll confirmed the reality of oppression and tyranny in Saudi Arabia.
Thus, Saudi Arabia ranked sixth in the Persian Gulf in terms of political participation and recorded a significant decline in several measures, the most important of which are:
- Zero mark on the scale of participation of political organizations
- Very low scores on actions such as general elections and freedom of expression
- Extremely complex problems in various standards, especially with regard to public freedoms and freedom of opinion and expression
A team of researchers from the GCC countries and experts in the study of the Persian Gulf region, especially researchers related to political science and humanities, worked on the list. According to these reports, Kuwait came in first with 535 points out of 1000 points and the Kingdom of Bahrain came in second with 451 points. The Sultanate of Oman came in third with 440 points, while Qatar came in fourth with 405 points. The UAE came in fifth with 316 points and Saudi Arabia came in last with 192 points.
The results of this survey show a significant decrease in the level of political participation and a decrease in the ability of citizens in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf to participate and contribute to public decision-making and policy-making in their countries.
The poll shows that none of the Gulf states has been able to pass the 500 mark. Thus, civil society organizations and human society organizations must work to rectify the dire situation of freedom of expression, as well as reduce political participation in some Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia.
This indicator indicates that the political participation of the people in Saudi Arabia has decreased due to the large presence of members of the ruling families in senior positions.
Saudi Arabia did not have a brilliant record in the field of human rights from the beginning, but it has become much darker since the coronation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During bin Salman’s three years as Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia has always been the scene of arrests and repression against opponents of the Saudi regime.