Oman's 84-member advisory Shura Council will have no women members after 21 female candidates failed to win seats in Saturday's election. The outgoing fifth Shura Council, elected in 2003, had two women members. Some women and activists have suggested a quota system to ensure a minimum level of female participation in the council, which has no formal powers.
The Gulf Arab state has been ruled since 1970 by Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who appoints the cabinet. "I am disappointed that women have not been elected but we must respect the choice of the voters," said Rahila al-Riyami, one of the two female members of the outgoing council.
"Quotas would introduce discrimination within the Shura Council. As a woman, I am against that."
Saturday's vote was preceded by a public election campaign, a first for Oman, where most people still vote along tribal lines rather than on the policies of the candidates.
Interior Minister Saud bin Ibrahim al-Bousaidi told the state-run Oman News Agency that turnout for the election had been "above expectations". But one female voter, who declined to be named, said some women in the tribal interior of the country had problems getting to polling stations since they rely on their menfolk for transport. Some also follow their male relatives' lead when choosing which candidate to vote for.
"My husband stopped me from standing for elections," said a university lecturer, who declined to give her name. The Interior Ministry said 388,683 people were registered to vote, with 632 candidates standing in 61 electoral districts.
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