Oman flag Oman: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Oman

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
Sultan: Haitham bin Tariq al Said (since 11 January 2020)
Next Election Dates
Consultative Assembly: October 2027
Main Political Parties
Oman does not allow political parties. The only political organisation, Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman, was dissolved in 1992, and remains dormant to this day.
Executive Power
Oman is an absolute monarchy and the Sultan is both head of state and head of government. The hereditary Sultan appoints a cabinet to assist him and serves as the supreme commander of the armed forces, prime minister, and minister of defence, foreign affairs, and finance. The Sultan does not designate his successor when alive. Instead, the ruling family designates a new ruler after the Sultan's death.
Legislative Power
The legislative branch is bicameral; however, it does not have full power over the law-making process. Also known as Majlis Oman, it comprises two chambers: the Council of State, or Majlis al-Dawla, consisting of 87 seats including the chairman, with members appointed by the sultan from among former government officials, prominent educators, businessmen, and citizens, serving four-year terms; and the Consultative Assembly, or Majlis al-Shura, with 90 seats, where members are directly elected in single- and two-seat constituencies by simple majority popular vote, serving renewable four-year terms.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
133/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Not Free
Political Freedom:
6/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: May 2024