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.)