Omanis turn out in large numbers for Shura polls

Muscat: Minor glitches aside, a large number of voters turned up, hoping that the recent events in the country will bring a qualitative change in the functioning of Oman’s Majlis Shura.

In pictures: Oman's Majlis Shura elections

“For the first time we are using Civil [ID] Cards and fingerprints embedded on them for the voter’s identity,” Sayyid Mohammad Bin Sultan Al Bu Saidi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, told Gulf News.

He agreed that there were some glitches in the process. “We know some people are complaining,” he said, adding that some ID cards were not functioning at the time of voting because of scratches on the chip or non-registration of cards.

“We are trying to solve these problems but in some cases it may be too late,” he said earlier in the day.

The undersecretary, who also voted at the Jaber Bin Zaid School Centre in the Muttrah constituency, was happy with the voter response. He added that he was pleased with the response in Seeb and Sohar. “Seeb has seen a bigger turnout than in the previous elections [in 2007],” he said.

He said the Election Commission had expected a good turnout at Sohar and, as expected, voting was good in the northern port town, which in recent times has seen protests that have turned violent at times. “People in Sohar want to change their representatives [to the Shura],” he said, justifying the bigger turnout of voters in the biggest town in the Batinah region.

“They [protesters] made it known what Omani people needed, therefore I have hopes from the newly elected Shura members to bring about improvement,” Mazin Al Sayegh, a private sector employee, told Gulf News after casting his vote in Muttrah constituency.

Ahmad Bin Mohammad Al Shamsi kept his record of becoming the first candidate to win the Shura elections when he was officially declared winner from Al Shinaina wilayat in Buraimi Governorate on Saturday, almost 90 minutes after the polls closed at 7pm. He was the line candidate to win the 2007 elections uncontested, but this time he won the election in a two-way contest from this wilayat.

Three more candidates were declared winners with Salim Bin Ali Al Ka’abi winning the Mahadha seat in the Buraimi Governorate.

Hamouda Bin Mohammad Bin Khalfan Al Harsoosi won the Haima seat from the Central region and the Al Jazir seat in the same region went to Nasser Bin Yasser Al Junaibi.