250,077 eligible people exercise their franchise in municipal polls

Muscat: With a voting percentage of 34.17, so far 250,077 eligible people exercised their franchise in municipal council elections for the third term till 5:00 pm on Sunday.

142,950 males and 107,127 females have so far used their voting rights in polls.

Omani voters started casting their votes via Intakhib (Elect) app to elect their representatives for the Municipal Council’s 3rd term.

As many as 731,767 Omani voters are casting ballots to elect members of Municipal Councils. The number of candidates stood at 696 (including 27 females) contesting for 126 seats.

It is the first time that Municipal Council elections are conducted via the new app “Intakhib” (Elect), which was launched by the Ministry of Interior. The app constitutes a shift forward in the elections practice as it keeps pace with global technical developments and eases the process.

“Intakhib” app is designed in accordance with standard security criteria and ensures the secrecy of information. Its use requires a smart phone configured to operate NFC protocols, an internet connection and a valid identity card. It also requires that the voter’s name be listed in the Electoral Register.

The process begins with the voter downloading the app on the smart phone from online stores of IOS or Android phones equipped with dual cameras. Then, the voter snaps a photo of his/her identity card from both sides, using the "Antakhib" app, which will read the data via the NFC protocol and relays the information to the candidates’ lists and then the voter selects the nominated candidate.

In the finalised lists for 2022, the number of voters in various governorates stood as the following: 103,949 voters in Muscat with 85 candidates contesting for 12 seats; 84,818 voters in Dhofar with 145 candidates contesting for 20 seats; 11,864 voters in Musandam with 22 candidates contesting for 8 seats; 16,696 voters in Al Buraimi with 20 candidates contesting for 6 seats; 83,338 voters in A’Dakhiliyah with 85 candidates contesting for 18 seats; 148,849 voters in North Al Batinah with 97 candidates contesting for 12 seats, 91,988 voters in South Al Batinah with 49 candidates contesting for 12 seats; 75,729 voters in South A’Sharqiyah with 61 candidates contesting for 10 seats; 63,358 voters in North A’Sharqiyah with 45 candidates contesting for 14 seats; 38,583 voters in A’Dhahirah with 31 candidates contesting for 6 seats and 12,595 voters in Al Wusta with 56 candidates contesting for 8 seats.