Muscat: Oman will take one more step forward in its slow but sure march towards people's participation in the decision-making process when 632 candidates vie for a place for the sixth term of the 84-seat Majlis Ashura, elections for which will be held tomorrow.
Although democracy is not the word used when candidates or sitting members talk about elections in the country, many perceive elections as heading for an eventual Omani style of democracy where people would have more say in the decision-making process.
According to Younis Bin Sabeel Bin Eisa Al Balushi, who won the country's first election as well as previous ‘closed' elections, believes that with each term Oman is moving forward to the eventual goal.
Expansion of role
He refrains from naming the goal but it is known that people are expecting the Advisory Council to expand its role from merely advisory to decision making.
Journalist Aziza Bint Salim Al Habsi, a first-time contender, complained about a lack of response from the citizens. She said there has been a reluctance in embracing the whole process. She wants people to rise above family, friends, relatives and tribes to elect qualified candidates to the Council.
Tribal loyalty is one factor which worries younger candidates.
Rafiah Al Talei, another journalist, who lost the elections last time, believes that the tendency to vote for tribal candidates keeps deserving people out of the Council.
Aziza felt although Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed and his government keep encouraging women's participation, the voters prefer to send men to the Council.
Many feel that as long as the Council's role is restricted to being advisory, the citizens would show apathy towards the process.
But Aziza wants every citizen to understand that if they participate now and make the elections successful, the future generation will definitely reap its benefits.
‘No gains'
Majis, a fuel station attendant, rattles off names of the candidates in his constituency but brushes off a suggestion of actually voting. He and several others like him see no point in voting as there are no gains for ordinary people like him.
Briton Andy Tye, who has been overseeing software implementation for the election process, said that Oman has its own style of elections that were as free and fair as in the West or for that matter anywhere in the world. Tye also supervises IT aspects of English and Scottish elections.
200 ballot papers for constituency's sole candidate
A whopping 29 candidates in an island constituency of Shalim, and nearly 15,000 voters in Hamraa with a narrower choice of three besides large numbers in some of the other wilayats (provinces) have prompted the Interior Ministry to print ballot papers in two different sizes.
“In the last elections we had printed only portrait-size ballot papers but this time with the large number of candidates in some constituencies, we had to print landscape-size ballot papers,'' Ramkrishna Sathyagopal, Bahwan IT's Operations Manager for the Majlis Ashura elections, told Gulf News yesterday. Bahwan IT has been awarded a $500,000 (about Dh1.8 million) worth contract to provide technical support for the elections.
Ahmad Al Shamshi is the only candidate in the new Al Shinaina wilayat in Buraimi but the election officials have decided to go ahead with voting here too. Over 200 ballot papers with his photo and name have been printed.
“Although he is elected without contest the officials want to see how many votes he polls in the elections,'' Sathyagopal said.
