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The Saudi Arabian government can be described as a monarchy where its constitution is ruled by Islamic laws or Sharia. In fact, the Qur’an is always referred to as the Constitution of Saudi Arabia. It can therefore be stated that Saudi Arabia is an authoritarian country where Islamic leaders and the king have the last say. The political scenario is also not very promising as the country lacks any recognized political party and national elections do not have any existence. However, local elections were last held in the year 2005, but the electoral process was restricted to just Saudi Arabian men.
In the year 1953 the political scenario of Saudi Arabia changed for the better when Saudi kings decided on forming a central government. 1953 also witnessed the formation of a council of ministers along with the Prime Minister, which was responsible for framing general policies that would be able to form a bureaucracy. Although rules and regulations can be framed by the council of Ministers, it requires to be ratified by the royalty. The king also has a right to elect a Consultative Assembly, which is responsible for the legislative department of the nation. However, the Consultative Assembly has limited powers. There is a Supreme Judicial Council composed of 12 senior jurists, who further recommend the selection of judges to the Sharia courts. The selection of judges to the sharia courts are finally decided by the Saudi Arabian king. Despite the existence of sharia courts and the Judicial Council, the king's council still remains the highest court of appeal. The Basic Law of 1992 finally established that the Qur’an is the true Constitution of Saudi Arabia.
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