78 candidates withdraw from Oman Shura elections

Fuente: 
Gulf News
Fecha de publicación: 
30 Ago 2015

Twenty women among 596 candidates remaining in the fray for 85 seats.

Seventy-eight candidates vying for seats in Oman’s Shura council have withdrawn from the elections slated for October citing personal reasons, according to the Ministry of Interior.

The number of candidates still in the race stands at 596, including 20 women.

Dhofar is the governorate with the highest number of candidates at 126, followed by Dhakliyah with 77, Muscat with 70, South Batinah with 61 and North Batinah with 60.

The rest of the candidates come from other parts of the country.

Of the registered candidates, 64 per cent belong to the 30-44 age group. In terms of education, 38.1 per cent of the candidates have cleared secondary school, 36.6 per cent are university graduates and 2.8 per cent hold PhDs.

In June, the Ministry of Interior banned 174 candidates from taking part in the elections, including current Shura council members Salim Al Awfi, Humaid Al Nasri and Salim Al Mashani.

According to Khalid Bin Hilal Al Busaidi, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, the banned candidates had either provided inaccurate information in their applications, failed to apply within the specified time frame or failed to meet the minimum criteria of a secondary school education.

Under Omani law, candidates running for the Shura council must be Omani by birth, be at least 30 years old, and not be involved in felony crimes.

The number of eligible voters in the elections stands at 600,000.

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