At stake in this election:

• 83 seats in the Consultative Council (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 State Council (Majlis al-Dawla) with 48 seats and the Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) with 83 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The Sultan and Prime Minister is hereditary head of state.
• In the State Council (Majlis al-Dawla) 59 members are appointed by the monarch*. In the Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) 83 members are elected by plurality vote to serve 4-year terms.**

* Members of the Majlis al-Dawla are appointed by the monarch and have 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 two representatives.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Independent(s): Independents
  Leader: N/A
  Seats won in last Consultative Council election: 0

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,418,085 (July 2010 Estimate includes 577,293 non-nationals)
• Registered Voters: 518,000 (October 2011 est.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,238,949 (2011)

·         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: 15 (State Council); 1 (Consultative Council) following the 2011 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: 512,712 (est.)