11. Upon the closure of withdrawal from candidacy, according to the statement of the Executive Director of the 2018 elections, it was observed that only three (3) candidates of the parliamentary elections withdraw, pursuant to Article (15) of Decree-Law No. (15) of 2002 on the Shura Council and House of Representatives as amended, while there were no withdrawals from candidacy for membership of municipal councils. 12. The NIHR has also observed the rejection of a number of candidacy applications for various reasons, such as the candidate’s affiliation to a legally dissolved political organization; the criminal record of the candidate; failure of the candidate to complete the required procedures in this regard; or failure to meet the conditions and requirements of candidacy; while granting the rejected candidates the right to appeal to the Supervisory Committees, and then before the competent courts. The NIHR believes that this approach constitutes a tool for protecting and monitoring the exercise of the right to stand for elections. 13. The NIHR followed up on the appeals filed with the Supreme Civil Court of Appeal. It observed, through the official website of the Supreme Committee for the Supervision of the Soundness of Elections, that the Court considered sixty six (66) appeals against the decisions of the supervisory committees, of which the Court approved fifty-two (52) appeals and revoked five (5) appeals, and ordered to re-list the appellants in the candidates’ lists. Five (5) appeals lapsed, and four (4) appeals rejected, in form, to be submitted after the scheduled date. Therefore, the number of final candidates for membership of the House of Representatives reached (293) candidates, while the number of candidates for membership of municipal councils reached (137) candidates. 14. The NIHR, through the various media, has also observed an announcement of one of the candidates that he was threatened to withdraw his candidacy decision. This made him lodge a complaint with the Public Prosecution, which initiated the investigation of the incident. The latter procedure aims at protecting such right and ensuring it is exercised freely, without any pressure or fear. In addition, the NIHR observed a report made to the Public Prosecution on persons receiving money from external bodies to harm the interests of the Kingdom by supporting such persons in the parliamentary elections. The NIHR believes that such practices would prejudice and affect the right of individuals to exercise their political rights. In addition, these practices contradict the democratic systems, which are based on participation in the management of public affairs as well as building of the state and civilization. Noting that the latter case has been referred to the competent court and its judicial proceedings are still pending. 15. In a step to enable the candidates to use their right to exercise election propaganda, the NIHR has observed the announcement of the Executive Director of the elections, in which the final lists of the parliamentary and municipal elections were presented on 4 November 2018; ahead of the scheduled date on 7 November 2018, and after the closing date of the legal period for considering the appeals by the Court of Appeal. Advancing the date of the announcement is based on the completion of considering all the appeals before the court prior to the specified date. 76