Muscat is nowadays bracing for what it believes is another step towards enforcing its democratisation process. A day remains for the election to the Council of Oman "Majlis" and messages such as "Love of one's homeland" are already seen throughout the country, urging citizens to participate in the country's third election of its kind to be held tomorrow.
Praise for this occasion was evident in daily newspapers, one which called the elections a "new historic day" representing a "victorious democratic journey".
Arrangements are going on well, according to the government, which noted that voters will be heading to 102 polling stations set up in all the 62 districts. The authorities have been boasting about the high spirit among the people, who will be choosing 84 members out of 632 candidates to be their representatives.
Amidst this atmosphere of celebration and joy however, there are some things worth nothing.
Some Omanis believe this election will only be a repetition of previous elections, which did not rise to their expectations. Rafiah Al Talei, an Omani journalist and programme director of the Gulf Citizenship Forum, notes that many citizens are eager to have the Council expand its role from only giving advice concerning public services to tackling other important issues that are more relevant to people's concerns and needs, including legislating and holding the government accountable.
Some council members, on the other hand, have their own frustrations. Al Talei noted that some members complain about not receiving due credit for their work, which mostly constitutes providing views. Worst yet is that some of "those views are simply ignored" by the government.
Substantial role
A growing desire by many Omani reformists is to give the council a more substantial role so it would break out from its long-time passive mood in which it remained for the past 16 years.
They want it to be a stronger body with more power, particularly when it comes to questioning the government. Many think that changing the members is of no use if the same council with the same limited powers is still there.
On the other hand, Oman should still get credit for being one of the first Gulf States to form a body that is elected directly by the people.
The first glimpses of democracy started in Oman in 1991 when the Shura (Consultative) Council was established and elected by the elite in the country. In 1994, women were allowed to vote and become candidates for office but it was only in 2003 that all citizens over the age of 21 were able to elect members of the council directly through the ballot box.
Today, the council is composed of the State Council (Upper House) and Shura Council as stipulated in Article 29 of the Omani Law.
Over the years, the council has strictly remained an advisory body that cannot even force the government to consider its counsel. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, who is the head of state, has full legislative and executive power as prime minister with the assistance of the appointed ministers and the council.
Many observers noted a need for the country to move forward in empowering its consultative institution. Stagnancy could be frustrating particularly when neighbouring countries such as the UAE and Qatar, who have recently introduced new democratic initiatives involving direct elections by the people, seem to be slowly catching up.
Given the current reform pace in the region, the possibility that other Gulf Cooperation Council countries would surpass Oman's democratic achievements is not ruled out.
An awful long time has elapsed since Oman had its first council and a change is long overdue, particularly as the elections may change some faces, but will maintain the status quo when it comes to the effectiveness of the council as an institution.
Perhaps a measure to have the president of the council elected elected by the members rather than appointed by the Sultanate leadership could be a good starting point.
It may still be a bit immature to judge the next council before it is even elected. What is certain is that observers will be evaluating Oman's democratic progress mainly through a careful scrutiny of the steps taken by the 84 council members in working hard for the interest of the Omani people in the next four years and particularly in urging the regime to grant the council more powers.
Will the next four years set the stage for an expanded role for the council? It's a matter of time before we find out.
Walid Al Saqaf is an information communications technology and media consultant.
