Saudi ban on women voting or running as candidates is to remain in place for the municipal elections next month, the electoral committee head has said.

'We are not ready for the participation of women in these municipal elections,' Abdulrahman Al Dahmash was quoted as saying in a report in our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News (GDN).

Saudi Arabia will hold municipal elections by region, kicking off on April 23.

The kingdom held its first, men-only municipal polls in 2005, when Saudis elected half the members of 178 municipal councils.