At stake in this election:

• 84 seats in the Lower Chamber (Majlis al-Shura)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said
• Head of Government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said
• Assembly: Oman has a bicameral Parliament (Majlis Oman) consisting of the Upper Chamber (Majlis al-Dawla) with 48 seats and the Lower Chamber (Majlis al-Shura) with 84 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The Sultan and Prime Minister is hereditary N/A.
• In the Upper Chamber (Majlis al-Dawla) 59 members are appointed by the monarch*. In the Lower Chamber (Majlis al-Shura) 84 members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms.**

* The Majlis al-Dawla has advisory powers only.

** Members of the Majlis al-Shura are elected from 59 multi-member and single-member electoral districts. Districts with a population over 30,000 have multiple representatives. The Majlis al-Shura has some limited power to propose legislatiion, but otherwise has only advisory powers.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,204,897 (July 2007 Estimate includes 577,292 non-nationals.)
• Registered Voters: 338,683 (October 2007)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,126,554 (2007)

·         Is Oman a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Oman ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (7 February 2006)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 14 (State Council); 0 (Consultative Council) following the 2007 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 52 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Oman a signatory to CRPD: Yes (17 March 2008)

·         Has Oman ratified CRPD: Yes (6 January 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 480,734 (est.)