News

Muscat: Voting in the Sultanate’s embassies in other GCC countries and the Commercial Office of the Sultanate in Dubai, will be held on Sunday, October 18, in addition to the working committees who will vote at the election centre in Muscat, Salim bin Humaid Al Hajri, Chairman of Preparation Committee for Majlis Al Shura 8th Term Elections, has said.

Voters from the governorates of Dhofar and Musandam present in the Governorate of Muscat will vote at the same centre, he added.

107 polling stations

Muscat: The Interior Ministry confirmed that the election committees in the Wilayats will announce on Wednesday (today) the final lists of voters, (611, 906) in numbers, at the Walis’ offices and on the election website www.election.gov.om/shura.

The Main Committee for Majlis Al Shura 8th Term Elections had adopted the final lists of voters during a meeting yesterday chaired by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Chairman of the Committee.

Muscat: In high spirits and with a relentless pursuit to compete in the next Shura Council election in Oman, to be held on October 25, Balqees Al Nadabi, one of the 20 women vying for seats in the election nationwide, is ready for the race.

She is among 10 candidates of Baushar province in Muscat for the next election, but faces stiff competition from Mohammad Al Busaidi, a popular former member of the Shura from her constituency, who is also a candidate for the next elections.

Muscat: Citizens have urged the candidates contesting the Majlis Al Shura elections to use the radio and television to reach out to voters.

Hamed Al Hashimi from the Al Sharqiyah governorate recommended changing the way in which electoral campaigning is done. “The candidates should participate in TV and radio programmes to share their plans for the upcoming elections to help citizens decide whom they should vote for.”

There are 596 candidates vying for the 85 seats, including 20 women, who are already campaigning actively.

Muscat: As the October elections for the Majlis Al Shura approach, candidates are getting busy with their campaigns, using social media, signs, and other techniques to woo voters.

MUSCAT: Only 21 out of the 674 candidates for October’s Majlis Al Shura elections are women, a number that is raising concerns about the lack of female representation in Oman’s political system.

In the 2011 elections 77 out of the 1,133 candidates were women, a total of 6.7 per cent. This year women represent just 3.1 per cent. In the current Majlis Al Shura, the lone woman, Naama Jamil Al Busaidi, makes up 1.2 per cent of the 84-member chamber.

A sharp decrease in the number of candidates vying for the Majlis Al Shura is not an indication that people are losing interest in Oman’s political system, according to experts.

There are 674 candidates on the final list for this year’s elections, according to the Ministry of Interior — 40 per cent fewer than the 1,113 candidates who stood for election in 2011.

KUWAIT: Gulf Cooperation Council parliament and Shura council chiefs have come up with a number of joint recommendations at the end of a meeting in Kuwait yesterday. They decided that Kuwait will host a conference of the committee of parliament chiefs on GCC economic integration in 2014, while Kuwait’s National Assembly will also be responsible for organizing a trip involving the regional group to the US Congress.