salam to all
Oman is an islamic monarchy country,
and till now it is doing fine, and so
far we have (majlis al-shura) and that
is a graet improvment..
my question is are we ready for full democracy..?
especialy in our society..
all the best

[Edited by patriot on 05-09-2001 at 12:56 PM]

A very criticle question you have posted here ..
I think that we are still not ready ..
I remmber last year .. when they were electing for majils al shura from our village .. my uncle asked for my vote .. I was asking who I am going to vote for any way .. they were saying the one from our family name !!!
is it the way democracy goes? do we elect for the one related to us or the best one ..
this is how things go in Oman .. we are tied very much into our families and we judge by family name not by the best ..
this is only for a small councel like Majlis Al-shura .. what for a bigger position ??
In my opinion .. His Majesty knows exactly this problem and this is why he started by Majlis Alshura .. as a way to teach us how to elect people .. and I guess maybe not now .. but in the age of our grand children when the family name is not as important as it is now we will can say we are ready !

patriot,

We already got full democracy in place Thanks to the far seeing vission and great wisdom of Mawlayee His Majesty the Sultan May God protect Him.

The Majlis al-Shura


In December 1991, Sultan Qaboos inaugurated the Majlis al-Shura, the Consultative Council which complemented the Majlis al Dawla. There were two main factors behind establishing the Majlis al-Shura. First, Sultan Qaboos had recognised the success of the A'Shura 'prototype' in the Majlis al Dawla. Second, the Sultan had promised that he would present opportunities for the population to take greater responsibility for the reconstruction of their country and the safe-guarding of its development process.

59 members represented each of the wilayats in Oman and each one, with the exception of the President, is an elected member. The two vice-presidents are elected by the membership of the Council in a secret ballot. Due to increases in population, the original 59 members of the Council have now increased to 82 in order to serve those wilayats with a population of more than 30,000.

The role of the Majlis al-Shura is to:

Review all draft economic and social legislation, as prepared by the various Ministries and as laid down in the Five Year Plans.

Put forward proposals as the Majlis sees fit in the domain of upgrading economic and social laws in the Sultanate.

Voice opinions on issues of public policy which the government may bring before the Majlis and then make suitable proposals in this regard.

Take part in the preparation of the country's development plans and monitor their execution within the framework of the State's general strategy and available resources.

Participate in raising public awareness of the aims, tasks and priorities of development and the efforts being expended to achieve it so that the nature of the needs and aspirations of a region be known and the bonds between the people and government are strengthened.

Participate in campaigns to preserve the environment and to protect it against pollutants.

Review issues relating to public utilities and amenities and to suggest ways of upgrading and increasing the efficiency of these services.

Examine obstacles which might stand in the way of trade and enterprise and to suggest suitable ways of overcoming such obstacles.

Voice opinions on various other matters which Sultan Qaboos sees fit to bring before the assembly.

All meetings of the Majlis al-Shura are held in private, but Oman Television now invites appearances from Ministers who having submitted their reports, are subjected to uninhibited and detailed questioning by Majlis members on the plans and policies of their respective offices. The public have welcomed this opportunity to witness frank debating which, in turn, helps to politically educate the population and to encourage them to participate in the growth of their country.


Women are welcomed into the Majlis al-Shura and are invited to put forward their own names as nominees for membership of the assembly. His Majesty has recognised the fact that women play a valuable role in the development of the Sultanate and as 49% of the population are female, it is important that this half of the Omani people are included in its achievements and growth. For the elections on 1 December 2000, a Royal Directive has stipulated that female participation in the Majlis al-Shura will be increased to 30% of the total number of applicants.

LONG LIVE OUR SULTAN

What is this "DEMOCRACY"?
Do you mean "DEMOCRACY" like Western countries?
That is NOT democracy. It is FALSE DEMOCRACY.
I would prefer the system of government like the one Oman has anytime over this false, phony, fake dream that these Western countries call DEMOCRACY.

Mti,
thanx for the information, they are really helpfull
I appreciate it, but my question is, is this democracy
ruling us, no i don't think so, still majlis al-shura
doesn't have full independence, it has to refer to the government isn't it..?

Mindazi
democracy is democracy, and it doesn'thave to be the way
westerners are practicing it, but you want the truth
yes they are practicing a better democracy than we do

please don't get me wrong...
i agree with you this governmet is better for us for the time being, but people are in the move,
al-hamdulillah we have a great leader but are we sure about
who are coming afetr him....