VZCZCXRO7587
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMS #0742/01 2130500
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 010500Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8568
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000742 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2017 
TAGS: PINR PGOV KDEM KMPI KWMN MU
SUBJECT: C-NE7-00774: OMAN FORGES AHEAD IN PREPARING FOR 
FALL ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A. STATE 55848 
 
     ¶B. MUSCAT 181 
     ¶C. 06 MUSCAT 1468 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR GARY A. GRAPPO FOR REASONS 1.4 (b, d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (C)  A total of 717 candidates, including 20 women, have 
been certified to run in national elections on October 27 for 
the Majlis al-Shura.  The Omani government has worked 
aggressively to increase the number of registered voters, 
including by sending "awareness teams" to address employees 
at government offices and major private companies.  The 
results may have been somewhat disappointing, however, as the 
deadline for voter registration was extended for three months 
until July 31.  Regulations on official campaign activities 
limit outreach to voters, but candidates often campaign 
informally at social events and many rely heavily on tribal 
connections to win their electoral races.  While press 
editorials have generally backed the government's voter 
registration drive, some articles have surprisingly 
questioned the utility of casting a ballot for a body often 
seen as failing to seriously benefit citizens.  On-line 
commentaries and polls indicate that voter apathy continues 
to plague the government's efforts to increase participation 
in the elections.  End Summary. 
 
---------------------------------- 
ELECTIONS SET AND CANDIDATES NAMED 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Oman's Ministry of Interior announced on July 19 
that national elections for the Majlis al-Shura, the lower 
house of the country's bicameral advisory body, will be held 
on October 27.  Previously, the Under Secretary for the 
Ministry of Interior, Mohammed bin Sultan al-Busaidi, told 
press on May 29 that 717 candidates have been approved to run 
for seats in the Majlis al-Shura.  (Note:  Over a month 
earlier, the Ministry of Interior disclosed that 818 Omanis 
had registered to be candidates in the election.  No reason 
was given why the final number had been pared back, but 
presumably some of the 101 individuals not on the approved 
list chose to withdraw their names, while others failed to 
meet statutory age, educational and character requirements. 
End Note.)  Of the 717 approved candidates, 20 are women, 
compared to 16 women -- two of whom were elected -- out of 
570 candidates in the 2003 national elections.  Seven of the 
current 20 female candidates are from the governorate of 
Muscat, with another seven from the coastal al-Batinah region 
in the north.  Three of the women are running in the Musandam 
peninsula, two in the governorate of Dhofar in the far south, 
and one in the al-Thahira region. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Large tribes dominated the candidate list in 
non-urban districts ("wilayats").  In the sparsely-populated 
al-Wusta region, for example, more than 90% of the candidates 
hail from the same few tribes.  Candidates for urban area 
districts, especially in greater Muscat, are more diverse and 
include a larger number of first-time participants.  Overall, 
18 of the 83 current Majlis al-Shura members chose not to run 
for re-election.  It is widely expected that a sizable number 
of candidates will drop out of the race before the elections 
due to low support or after negotiating deals with their 
competitors. 
 
--------------------------- 
VOTER REGISTRATION EXTENDED 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) As reported previously (refs A, B), the Omani 
government has made a concerted effort to encourage Omanis to 
register to vote.  Throughout the spring, Oman TV and local 
papers ran frequent announcements urging citizens to 
register.  In April, government "awareness teams," including 
both men and women, visited nearly every Omani ministry in 
Muscat to show employees a brief documentary on the Majlis 
al-Shura, explain voter registration forms, and answer 
questions about the elections.  (Note:  A large majority of 
Omani citizens work in the public sector.  End Note.)  The 
teams also visited large private companies, as well as 
government offices in districts outside of Muscat, to prod 
Omanis to become registered voters. 
 
¶5.  (U) On April 28, two days before the end of the voter 
registration period, the Ministry of Interior announced that 
citizens would be allowed to register for the Majlis al-Shura 
elections for three additional months (i.e., until July 31). 
The central elections committee at the Ministry of Interior 
made a final public appeal in local media on July 25, urging 
 
MUSCAT 00000742  002 OF 003 
 
 
Omanis who had not yet registered to do so the following (and 
final) week. 
 
------------------------ 
CAMPAIGN DO'S AND DON'TS 
------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Given uncertainty among election candidates on 
permissible campaign activities, Under Secretary al-Busaidi 
of the Interior Ministry, who also serves as the chairman of 
the central elections committee, attempted to clarify 
applicable campaign rules in an April 3 interview with 
government-owned Arabic daily "Oman."  Al-Busaidi stated that 
campaigning is banned at all government establishments and 
mosques.  Candidates are allowed to formally meet with 
voters, he explained, but only in a specified venue after 
receiving approval from the relevant district election 
committee.  Similarly, according to al-Busaidi, public 
campaign propaganda is limited to posters placed on 
designated "notice boards." 
 
¶7.  (U) In an April 30 press interview, Ministry of 
Information Under Secretary Abdullah al-Hausani -- who chairs 
the government's elections media committee -- said that 
candidates are permitted to place press ads and mount posters 
in specified areas containing information on their background 
and qualifications, and to meet with voters in a public tent 
or "Majlis," upon the approval of their district's election 
committee.  He stressed that candidates are banned from 
"defaming" others or from making pledges that they are "not 
able to fulfill." 
 
¶8.  (C) According to contacts, many candidates choose to 
avoid restrictions on formal public campaign activities by 
campaigning "informally" at social functions such as 
weddings, parties and clan gatherings.  Some candidates 
reportedly do little campaigning at all once they secure the 
support of key tribal leaders, confident that members of 
these tribes will heed the voting advice of their sheikhs 
regardless of candidate outreach efforts. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) One area not specifically addressed by campaign 
regulations is use of the Internet.  A handful of candidates 
have taken advantage of this ambiguity by creating websites 
displaying their photos, resumes and other information such 
as a proposed "action plan," although these sites studiously 
avoid directly criticizing current government policies. 
Omanis visiting Oman-focused Internet chatrooms have also 
posted endorsements of certain candidates, usually someone 
they know personally such as a friend or family member. 
 
------------------------------ 
GETTING THE LOGISTICS IN PLACE 
------------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (U) The Ministry of Interior announced in July that 101 
"voting centers," evenly distributed throughout country's 
electoral districts, will be open for balloting on election 
day.  In addition, Omani embassies in the following ten 
countries will accept votes from Omani citizens abroad: 
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, 
Egypt, Tunisia and Malaysia.  To tabulate ballots, the Under 
Secretary of the Interior Ministry signed an agreement on 
 
SIPDIS 
July 9 with Muscat-based Bahwan Cybertech Company for the 
purchase of electronic vote sorting machines -- a deal valued 
at 500,000 Omani rials (USD 1.3 million). 
 
------------------ 
PRESS COMMENTARIES 
------------------ 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Editorials in Oman's highly constrained press have 
shown a surprising breadth of opinion towards the upcoming 
elections.  Some op-ed pieces predictably praised the 
government's voter registration drive, noted the important 
role played by the Majlis al-Shura, and highlighted the civic 
duty of Omanis to participate in the Majlis elections. 
Others, however, were more critical or questioning.  A May 5 
editorial in Arabic daily "Shabiba" by Mohammed al-Bulushi (a 
PA-sponsored Murrow Journalism Fellows program alumnus) 
asserted that the Majlis al-Shura needed to be "empowered" 
and granted more legislative authority in order to attract 
more citizen interest, "otherwise it will continue to be 
viewed as a body of tribal representatives discussing water, 
electricity and waste management services." 
 
¶12.  (U) An article in semi-independent "Al Watan" claimed 
that the government election awareness campaign had turned 
into a "disaster" at one venue when a team member asserted 
that a significant percentage of current Majlis al-Shura 
members, particularly those from rural tribal areas, were 
functionally illiterate.  In urging Omanis to cast their 
 
MUSCAT 00000742  003 OF 003 
 
 
votes wisely, an editorial in government-owned "Oman" stated 
that there are three types of candidates for the Majlis: 
those who "try to bribe voters with money;" those who "bribe 
voters with luncheons and buffets;" and those who "are true 
nationalists who understand the real value of the Majlis." 
 
------------------- 
ON-LINE DISCUSSIONS 
------------------- 
 
¶13.  (C) Following the announcement of the date for the 
Majlis al-Shura elections, visitors to Oman's principal 
Internet discussion group (www.Omania2.net) posted mostly 
negative remarks on the subject.  One person suggested that 
no one vote in Majlis elections until the institution was 
"given real powers."  Another considered calling for a 
boycott of the elections and described the Majlis as "a body 
without a hand, foot or even eyes."  An earlier poll 
conducted at the same website revealed that roughly 75% of 
the respondents did not plan to vote in the Majlis al-Shura 
elections.  In addition to statements critical of the Majlis' 
usefulness, some Omani bloggers and chatroom participants 
complained that candidates had not yet presented platforms or 
taken positions on important issues.  "No program, no trust, 
no vote," were the on-line comments of one Omani. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶14.  (C) The extension of the registration deadline indicates 
that the government's unprecedented voter awareness efforts 
have failed to fully meet expectations.  (Note:  The 
government has not disclosed the current number of registered 
voters.  End Note.)  It is unclear exactly who or what is the 
driving force behind the "get out of the vote" campaign, but 
efforts to seriously increase the number of voters are 
solidly in line with the stated goal of the Sultan and senior 
officials to increase citizen participation in government. 
As reported ref B, the Majlis al-Shura, while far from a 
vigorous legislative body and with more than a few 
non-contributing members, often suffers unfairly from claims 
of being "useless" as some of its legislative review 
functions are intentionally kept out of the public eye. 
Attempts to dispel this negative image will be key in 
overcoming voter apathy. 
GRAPPO