The long-awaited setting up of a sixty-member Consultative Council, or Majlis Al-Shura (Royal Decree No. A/91, dated 27-8-1412) marked a significant move towards the formalization of the participative nature of government in Saudi Arabia. The announcement of the establishment of the Council, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of the accession of King Fahd, and which was accompanied by details of a new Basic Law, clearly marked the first steps towards a more formal, broadly based involvement in the Kingdom’s political processes.
At its inception, the Consultative Council consisted of a speaker and sixty members selected by the King. The Royal Decree establishing the Council made it clear, first and foremost, that the Council was set up and would operate in compliance with [the existing system of government in the Kingdom] and in adherence to the Book of God and the tradition of his Messenger.
