PHOTO GALLERY: Saudi women vote for first time

Multimedia

A man casts his vote at a polling station during the Saudi municipal elections. (Reuters)

A Saudi woman casts her ballot. (AFP)

Saudi women vote at a polling centre during the country's municipal elections. AP)

Saudi men prepare to vote at a polling station. (AFP)

Saudi men vote at a polling station in the capital Riyadh. (AFP)

Saudi election officials sit at a polling station in the Saudi capital Riyadh. (AFP)

Saudi women prepare to vote at a polling centre during the country's municipal elections in Riyadh. (AP)

A Saudi woman leaves a polling station after casting her vote during municipal elections. (Reuters)

Saudi women voters outside a polling station. (Reuters)

A woman leaves a polling station after casting her vote during municipal elections, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 12, 2015 (Reuters)

Saudi women vote at a polling station. (AP)

Saudi women voters. (AP)

Thousands of Saudi women are heading to polling stations across the kingdom on Saturday to participate in elections for the first time, both as voters and candidates.

Nearly 6,000 men and around 980 women are standing as candidates for local municipal council seats. More than 130,000 women have registered to vote, compared to 1.35 million men.

The country's General Election Commission says there are at least 5 million eligible voters in a population of 20 million, but the figure could be much higher.

The participation of women in Saudi elections is a step forward for women's rights, but is still not enough, rights activists say.

Analysts have pointed out that in the context of Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system a number of issues need to be addressed in order for this move to have a meaningful impact on women's lives.