Omani Elections

Today Oman held its first-ever elections with universal adult sufferage for its Majlis ash-Shura, a consultative council for social and economic policy. Gulf News paints a positive portrait of the events, with high voter turnout, female candidates, and an efficient computerized election process. Al-Jazeera is more skeptical, pointing out that the women lost, the government manipulated the turn-out numbers, and people generally voted for candidates chosen by local tribal leaders.