RIYADH, Oct 10: Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz on Sunday ruled out the participation of women in landmark municipal elections in the kingdom next year.

"I don't think the participation of women is on the cards," the official SPA news agency quoted him as telling reporters during a visit to Kuwait for a meeting of Gulf Arab interior ministers.

Three Saudi women have said they intend to run in the first-ever nation wide ballot to elect half the members of 178 municipal councils despite the uncertainty about whether they would be allowed to take part.

The text of the regulatory framework for the elections did not explicitly exclude women. It used the Arabic masculine form in referring to citizens eligible to vote, a common practice in the kingdom's legal texts.

The election, to be held in three stages from February 10 through April 21, is part of a drive to introduce limited reforms, which Riyadh insists must be tailored to Saudi specifications and not necessarily follow a Western pattern. -AFP