Oman sees girl power in council vote

Muscat: Streams of women poured into the Muttrah election centre on Saturday, forming lengthy queues as poll centres opened for Oman's council elections.

Hundreds of women stood fanning themselves in queues to wait for their turn to vote in the Majlis Al Shura (Advisory Council) elections at Ruwi School in Muttrah.

Male voter activity, on the other hand, was going smoothly early in the vote, as their numbers were not as high as women's at the time.

Hundreds male supporters and voters could be seen crowding outside the election centre, some wearing campaign badges.

"I expected women's participation to be high so I'm not surprised at all," said Zahra Taqi, a voter.

"Perhaps this time of day is most convenient for women, especially those that have children to take care of," said Zahra, referring to the Saturday morning voting.

While some women were holding designer bags, others held a toddler or two. One woman was seen with two toddlers, one in each arm, a small girl and her elderly mother beside her.

"There's no one to take care of them at home," she said, speaking over the cries of the many children irritated to have to wait in the heat.

Men were politely instructed to stay clear of the women's areas.

"The Wali [governor] of Muttrah has asked me to inform you that men are not allowed to stand here," an election official told Gulf News.

Women had a separate entrance and a separate voting room, and were designated female elections and police officials to handle their areas.

Old men on walking sticks, clerics and popular television personalities could be seen rushing to avoid the crowds and cast their votes.

As he entered the voting room, one voter, Abdul Rasool, said he hadn't decided who to vote for so far.

"I guess I'll just pick one when I enter. I have no idea who it's going to be because I don't know much about the candidates. I'm a supporter of women so I might vote for a woman," he said.

Most voters who spoke to Gulf News however, said they would be voting for a member of their tribe.

Mahmood Abdullah said his tribe had an internal vote to pick one of the four members of the tribe running for the elections "so as to unify the votes and ensure that we are represented in the council".

"The ones that didn't win have unofficially withdrawn," he said. Asked if she would only vote for a member of her tribe, Zahra laughed. "No comment!"