Online voting for Shura in Oman ends

Omani citizens living abroad and members of the election committees cast their ballot for the ninth term of Majlis Ash’shura elections through an application on their smartphones. The voting ended on 8 pm, on Saturday.

The Ministry of Interior said that the voting through the application constitutes a technological transformation in the Majlis Ash’shura elections as the application enables Omani voters residing anywhere in the world to participate in the elections whereas in the previous elections the voting was conducted at designated election centres at the Sultanate’s embassies in the GCC countries.

Earlier, the ministry launched the application on electronic platforms. On Saturday the application was made available for use by eligible voters provided that they hold valid ID cards and possess a SIM card issued by one of the telecom companies operating in the Sultanate and provided with the international roaming service and the public key infrastructure (PKI). The SIM card should also be activated via the Oman PKI portal.

The ministry published the steps that should be followed by voters in the remote voting process on the local media as well as the Majlis Ash’shura elections accounts on the social networking sites.

Voting for citizens in Oman will take place on October 27. A total of 767 candidates including 43 women will be vying for 86 seats in Majlis Ash’shura, which consists of members who are representing the different wilayats elected by direct vote.