King Salman's rule. The country's Basic Law bans the formation of political parties and sanctions sedition and condemnation of the king with long jail terms. The founding members of the National Assembly Party are Activist Yahya Assiri, comedian Omar Abdulaziz, Professor Madawi al-Rasheed, and scholar Abdullah al-Aoudh. Islamist terrorism Osama bin Laden and 15 out of the 19 9/11 hijackers (alleged) were Saudi nationals or used to be Saudi nationals and former CIA director James Woolsey described Saudi Arabian Wahhabism as "the soil in which Al-Qaeda and its sister terrorist organizations are flourishing." Arab Spring protests Since 2011, Saudi Arabia has been affected by its own Arab Spring protests. In response, King Abdullah announced on 22 February 2011 a series of benefits for citizens amounting to $36 billion, of which $10.7 billion was earmarked for housing. No political reforms were announced as part of the package, though some prisoners indicted for financial crimes were pardoned. On 18 March the same year, King Abdullah announced a package of $93 billion, which included 500,000 new homes to a cost of $67 billion, in addition to creating 60,000 new security jobs. The lack of critical thought in the education system has been cited by some as the reason why fewer protests occurred in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries also sent some Police men to Bahrain to assist police clampdown on protesters within Bahrain. Regional government The kingdom is divided into 13 regions (manāṭiq), which in turn are divided into numerous districts. Regional governors are appointed, usually from the royal family, and preside over one or more municipal councils, half of whose members are appointed and half elected. The governors are responsible for such functions as finance, health, education, agriculture, and municipalities. The consultative principle operates at all levels of government, including the government of villages and tribes. The governors act as regional "mini-kings", sitting in majlises, hearing grievances and settling disputes. Municipal elections In February 2005, the first elections in Saudi Arabian history were held. The elections for "virtually powerless" municipal councils were for half the seats (half of each council's seats were appointed). Women were not allowed to stand for office or to vote. In Riyadh, the number of registered voters did not exceed 18% of those eligible to vote, representing only 2% of the city's population. There was evidence of much greater interest in the Shia community of