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| Arabia |
| Oman to hold election in 2007 |
| 2006-11-20 |
| MUSCAT - Oman will elect a new Majlis Al Shura, or consultative council, in October 2007, the Gulf sultanate’s interior minister Saud bin Ibrahim Al Bussaidi, said on Sunday. The official Ona agency quoted Bussaidi as saying the election, in which men and women will be allowed to vote, would be held ‘using a new formula’, but did not elaborate. The last election for the Majlis, in October 2003, was the first to be open to all citizens of the conservative sultanate. Fifteen women were candidates in that election, but only two won seats in the 83-member council. All Omanis aged 21 or over, or 822,000 people out of a population of 1.96 million, had the right to vote in 2003. Only 262,000 registered to do so, a third of which were women. The Majlis Al Shura is a consultative body that advises the government on economic and social affairs but is not involved in defence, security or foreign policy. |
| Posted by:Steve White |