Muscat: Tribal alliance would pose a big challenge to educated and smart young candidates in the Majlis Al Shura elections to be held in Oman next month, according to a young US-educated candidate.

"The tribal alliance was a dominant force in the past elections and this time too they pose a greater challenge to the younger aspirants," Khalid Al Haribi, who heads the country's only independent think-tank Tawasul-Oman, told Gulf News recently on the sidelines of a seminar on e-campaigning.

He cautioned that already the tribal alliance was intimidating younger candidates. After the withdrawal of 200 candidates, 1,100 are have been left in the fray, including 70 women, for the elections of the seventh term of the advisory council in Oman.

Al Haribi, who is also contesting elections for the first time from Salalah in southern Oman, would like candidates to use internet to their benefit.

"There are 300,000 internet users in the country but most are idle and we need to reach out to them."

Constructive use

The political science graduate from West Virginia University wants the internet to be used constructively to boost voting in the Shura elections.

The civil rights activist would like to disseminate the right information about all candidates, as well as educate potential voters about electoral regulations in the country.

"We need to give every citizen [the] right information and we can do that through the internet," he stressed.

The challenge to reach out to internet users about the council, as well as elections, has been taken up by the most popular local forum in the country, the Sablat Oman.

"We have created a dedicated web site (shura.s-Oman.net) and have put up details of all the candidates for voters to see," Mousa Abdullah Al Farai, chairman of the Al Sabla Digital Solutions LLC, told Gulf News.

Negative implications

Al Farai believes the internet could have both positive and negative implications.

"The reach of internet in the country is not spread to every wilayat [province]," he pointed out one of the drawbacks of depending on internet for campaigning.

He also expressed his apprehension about candidates taking to social web sites, saying: "Most users don't use [their] real names so there could be hesitancy on part of candidates to discuss with anonymous persons."

Al Farai, however, pointed out that the reach through internet could be wider and better ideas could be exchanged with a much wider audience.

"We need to increase penetration of internet in the country as it will help widen our reach," he pointed out.

77 women in running for council seats

The elections for the seventh term of the Majlis Al Shura will take place on October 15, according to a statement issued by the Election Commission yesterday.

A record number of 1,133 candidates are in the field, including 77 women as they contest for 84 seats in the advisory council from 61 districts.

In the elections for the sixth term, none of the 20 women candidates managed to win a seat in 2007 but this time around, Omanis are more optimistic about the representation of women in the council, which has been granted more legislative and regulatory powers by the country's ruler Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed.

Syed Mohammad Bin Sultan Al Bu Saidi, Undersecretary at the Interior Ministry, announced that 522,093 citizens had registered as voters compared to 388,000 during the sixth-term elections in 2007. The 30 per cent increase in registered voters this time includes three per cent increase of women voters.

Polling at Oman's embassies in GCC member states will take place on October 8 — a week before the actual elections in the country.

Polling hours

He added that 105 voting centres across the country will be open for voting on the day of elections from 7am to 7pm.

"To avoid crowding at the polling station around 10 ballot boxes [will] be placed at each centre," he revealed.

The Interior Ministry undersecretary appealed to registered voters to complete the formality of registering their IDs by tomorrow.

Those who don't register will not be eligible to vote.

Bu Saidi expressed hopes that voters will turn out in big numbers to cast their votes.