The Shura Council elections in the Sultanate of Oman witnessed a significant change in the representatives of the Council for the tenth term, while women suffered a resounding loss, as no female candidate was able to win membership in the 90-member Council.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Talal Al-Saadi, Secretary of the Electoral Commission, said that the voting turnout reached 65.88 percent and varied according to the governorates.
This is the second highest participation in elections in the Sultanate of Oman, after the Shura Council elections in 2011, which witnessed a record turnout of 76 percent.
The percentage of new deputies reached 64 percent, as 61 new candidates won in the elections. Al-Saadi said that the new council will elect a president and two deputies via internal electronic voting in November.
The members of the Council elected in the tenth session represent 63 states. 843 candidates, including 32 women, competed in these elections, according to the final lists of candidates. The total number of voters who registered for the elections reached 753,690 voters, of whom 496,279 male and female voters actually participated, a rate of 65.88 percent.
The voting took place without papers or boxes, using an updated version of an electronic platform, which was inaugurated for the first time in 2019.
The Oman Telecommunications Company confirmed that the protective systems are working with high efficiency and that no attempts at cyber-attacks have been recorded.
Sheikh Al-Mukhtar bin Abdullah Al-Harithi, Deputy President of the Supreme Court and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Electing Members of the Shura Council for the Tenth Term, said that no appeals had been registered in the elections, while complaints received were being investigated.
Although women constituted 48 percent of the total number of voters, no female candidate could win a seat in the council. The law in Oman has granted women the right to practice political work, since the elections of Council’s second term (1994-1997). Back then, two female candidates were elected, as in the elections that followed.
However, women’s chances did not improve. In the previous council, only two female candidates won the electoral race, while the previous council included only one woman.
The Omani Shura Council, which was established in 1991 as a substitute for a consultative council established in 1981, is elected for a four-year term and has the powers to review, propose and amend the state’s public and economic policies.
The council, however, does not interfere in matters related to defense, internal security, and foreign policy. The elected council, together with the appointed State Council, forms the “Council of Oman”.
