MUSCAT – The week following the first round, on October 29, voters within Oman will cast their ballots to pick their desired candidates for the Council’s membership. The total number of registered voters via the ‘Intakhib’ app and the elections website (elections.om) stands at 753,690 Omani men and women who will take part in the elections. The final list of candidates to the Council’s membership is 843, including 32 women.

The Ministry of Interior seeks to integrate the roles of the authorities concerned and introduce the latest technologies to save time and effort for the voters. Intakhib app requires the availability of a smartphone equipped with the Near Field Communication (NFC) feature, a connection to the World Wide Web, a valid ID card and a voter number recognized at the Electoral Register, which provides top security standards and all precautions to help a voter act in complete secrecy. The Ministry of Interior affirmed its preparedness in terms of administrative, technical, legal and media aspects, so that the election process could be realized in a perfect manner. To this end, the ministry developed plans and mechanisms in coordination with the departments concerned. Over the past period, the ministry updated its programmes, methods and applications to ensure the success of the election process.

The ministry addressed public awareness messages to citizens, encouraging them to participate in the electoral process, after it streamlined the related procedures. The ministry introduced 12 electronic services, including the establishment of dialogue spaces, means of verification of voters’ registration, automated counting indicators on voting day, numerical statistics showing the percentage of voting in each wilayat, a voter’s age and gender and options for submitting suggestions and reports. The ministry affirmed that all relevant information will be available in full transparency and that the data will be broadcast live during Elections Day. It reaffirmed that the electoral process for the Tenth Term will be distinguished for accuracy and transparency.

Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Al Nadabi, Secretary General of the Shura Council, said that the electoral process for Shura Council 10th Term reflects maturity in the thinking of candidates and voters. Accordingly, the new term of the Shura Council is expected to endorse a forward looking vision that keeps pace the future plans of Oman, Al Nadabi added. He explained that, as per the developments, candidates reach out to their voters and present their programmes through direct tools and means of propaganda and publicity that includes a candidate’s personal information.