Three activists who participated in protests in Oman earlier
this year were elected to the Gulf Arab country’s 84-member consultative Shura
Council, raising hopes that calls for reform will be heeded by a more empowered
council.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said, an absolute ruler who deposed his
father in 1970, responded to the unrest in February with promises of reform and
handouts, and gave the council some legislative and regulatory powers for the
first time.
The election of former protesters such as Salim al-Mashani,
who had been detained during demonstrations in the southern port city of
Salalah in February, were praised by activists.
“That means the people were fully behind the protests
and they want their voices heard democratically,” said Saif al-Muharbi,
another former protester in Muscat.
Voter turnout was higher than expected, with 76 percent of
the nearly 520,000 registered voters casting ballots on Saturday. Few had
expected a voting rate higher than the 28 percent seen in 2007, given low
turnouts in recent elections in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab
Emirates.
Five people were killed in February’s protests, which
erupted in the industrial town of Sohar after uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Mainly young protesters demanded higher salaries and an end to graft in Oman.
After the unrest, Sultan Qaboos, a US ally, promised a
$2.6bn spending package and 50,000 public sector jobs. He also reshuffled his
cabinet three times to sideline powerful but unpopular figures.
One woman, Nu’amah bint Jamayel al-Busaidi, was also elected
to the council, which the government said was a disappointing result.
“It is very unfortunate that only one woman was elected
but we must respect the results because voters had their say yesterday,”
the Interior Ministry Undersecretary Mohammed bin Sultan al-Busaidi, who also
heads the electoral committee, told reporters.
Women were given the right to vote in 2003, when two female
candidates were elected to the Shura Council.
Not all Omanis saw the election in a positive light, saying
that the rest of the results reflected a society that at its core remains
fundamentally tribal.
Some complained that tribal favoritism made citizens vote
for candidates due to family links.
“It is all about tribalism, and once again, people
voted for the members of their tribe,” said Faisal al Shari, one of the
election observers.
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