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Oman First-Time Local Polls Turnout Tops 50%
[An Nahar] Voter turnout topped 50 percent in Oman's first ever local elections for 192 councilors with advisory powers, the sultanate's deputy interior minister announced on Sunday.Turnout reached "50.3 percent of the electronically registered voters," Khaled Albusaidi said, quoted by the official ONA. Turnout among the registered 447,551 voters was "satisfying," said Albusaidi, adding that the polls which took place on Saturday "were successful at all levels." Among the 1,475 hopefuls, all of whom were standing as independents in a country where political parties remain banned, four out of 46 female candidates won seats. The normally sleepy sultanate was caught up in the 2011 protests which swept the Arab world, with demonstrators taking to the streets to demand improved living conditions and reforms. Posted by: Fred 2012-12-24 |
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