General elections was held in
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
on 15 October 2011 to choose 84-members of the
Consultative Assembly.
Background
Following the self-immolation of
Mohammed Bouazizi
Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi ( ar, طارق الطيب محمد البوعزيزي, Ṭāriq aṭ-Ṭayib Muḥammad al-Būʿazīzī; 29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) was a street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 in Sidi Bou ...
in
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
and the consequent
2010-2011 Tunisian uprising,
protests
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
around the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
for some form of democratic reforms. The Omani protests were crushed by the regime, although reforms were offered.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said then said that the Shura Council would get some legislative powers, while he also promised the initiation of programmes to create more jobs and to fight corruption.
Voting registration
Following the protests, about 520,000 people registered for the election, which saw an increase of 388,000 from
2007.
Candidates
According to the ''
Oman News Agency'', there were 1,300 candidates, 77 of whom were women, more than any previous election.
Campaign
According to ''
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
'' voters sought an increase in salaries, more jobs and ending
graft
Graft or grafting may refer to:
*Graft (politics), a form of political corruption
* Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp
Science and technology
*Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure
*Grafting, the joining of plant t ...
as part of a campaign against corruption.
Election
Voting districts that have a population of 30,000 or more choose two MPs, while others have one MP. There were 105 polling stations.
The voter turnout was 76%.
References
2011
2011 elections in Asia
2011 in Oman
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