Democracy breaks out in Saudi Arabia...

From the commercial capital Jeddah to Islam's second holiest city of Medina, official figures showed a sweeping victory for candidates endorsed by conservative Muslim scholars, including government critics.

Thursday's elections marked the third and final round of voting for municipal councils in the absolute monarchy, which has come under pressure to reform after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, carried out by mainly Saudi hijackers.

Women were excluded from voting or standing in the elections and the councils will have half their members appointed by the state. The royal family is unlikely to see its powers eroded by the cautious step toward democracy.

In the Red Sea port of Jeddah the seven candidates on a "golden list" endorsed by Muslim scholars won all seven seats, defeating 500 rivals in a show of religious influence which defied the city's relatively liberal tradition.

The holy city of Medina returned six out of seven candidates supported by religious figures. Winners in the town of Buraida, heartland of Saudi Arabia's austere Wahhabi school of Islam, also appeared to have religious backing.