[Oman-l] OMAN: Qaboos builds up the grassroots

[BaaboodA@aol.com]

Dear oman-l members,

Here is an excerpt on Oman from Gulf Newsletters on "Rulers Grasp Democratic 
Nettle".

Abdulla

OMAN: Qaboos builds up the grassroots

Among the late October appointments to the Majlis Al-Dowla, the sultanate’s 
nominated State Council, is Murtadha Bin Hassan Bin Ali Al-Lawati, former 
head of the economic committee in the national consultative assembly, the 
Majlis Al-Shura. Defeated at the polls in the assembly elections on 16 
September, Lawati now finds himself joining other members of the great and 
the good in the upper house—rather like a British parliamentarian ejected by 
voters from the House of Commons but offered a consolation seat in the House 
of Lords.

Sandhurst-trained Sultan Qaboos Bin Said may be a great anglophile, but 
imitation of the U.K.’s idiosyncratic parliamentary system is not the motive 
behind his decision to include Lawati in the latest Majlis Al-Dawla (whose 
members also include five women). It is emblematic of the Sultan’s effort to 
encourage the emergence of a political elite capable of ensuring 
administration and policy debate and, in the longer term, shifting Oman away 
from a purely monarchical, “top-down” form of government to one that is more 
participatory and pluralist.

Lawati, from a Shia trading family, is typical of the parliamentarians who 
have represented Muttrah in the Majlis Al-Shura. A split in his traditional 
tribal support allowed a rival candidate to snatch the seat this time, but 
communal issues apart, the former committee chairman is in many ways typical 
of the new political class that Qaboos has tried to foster. The economics 
committee is one of eight in the Majlis Al-Shura, which have increasingly 
engaged in detailed policy discussion with ministers and the government 
machine. Under Lawati, it had developed considerable expertise and, although 
its formal powers were nominally limited to debate and scrutiny, notably of 
the budget, it had begun to evolve as a centre of new policy formation. Last 
year it debated the introduction of a form of income tax, although this is an 
idea government itself has ruled out for the time being (with state coffers 
boosted by high oil prices, revenues from the new Oman LNG gas project and, 
potentially, from privatisations).

No taxation without representation…

Income tax is a generally unpopular concept that has attracted some support 
from economic modernisers—keen to develop extra sources of revenue for public 
services—and some Islamist-leaning parliamentarians, who see it as a sort of 
tithe, expressing traditional concepts of social and religious solidarity. In 
its fresh thinking about issues such as these, and in proposing significant 
changes to existing law, the nominally consultative Majlis Al-Shura is 
creeping quite close to the acquisition of real legislative power.

The Majlis has been making powerful use of its rights as a scrutineer of 
government, summoning ministers to report on the performance of their 
departments. Some have been given a rough ride, but in a number of cases they 
have then tried to establish a dialogue with Majlis members and deal 
seriously with their concerns. Meanwhile, parliamentarians have tried to 
enhance their popular legitimacy by holding constituency surgeries—in a 
country where citizens expect to have access with their leaders, underlined 
by Sultan Qaboos’ annual tours around the country.

Their moral authority should be further enhanced at the next election, when 
the franchise becomes universal. In 1997, voting was restricted to some 
51,000 locally selected community representatives—men and women—while Sultan 
Qaboos himself chose who sat in the Majlis, picking two of the top four 
candidates in large constituencies and one of the top two in smaller 
jurisdictions. This time round, the number of community-chosen electors was 
enlarged to about 175,000 and top (or top-two) placing candidates 
automatically secured Majlis seats.

According to Under Secretary at the Interior Ministry Sayyid Mohamed Bin 
Sultan Al-Busaidi, in the 2003 election all Oman’s 750,000-800,000 citizens 
of 21 or over will have the right to vote. Even after that, some issues may 
remain beyond the assembly’s purview. Foreign affairs and defence are 
reserved for the Sultan’s direct control —although an increasingly lively 
local press does discuss them, most notably pressure for the recent closure 
of the Israeli trade office.