Oman Stages First Free Election

CNN ^ | 10/4/03 | Unknown

[ChicagoHebrew]

MUSCAT, Oman -- Omanis went to the polls in their first free elections to elect an advisory council Saturday.

A "good" turnout was reported midday, with more than half the registered voters casting their ballot at some polling stations, Saeed bin Mohammed al-Braiki, deputy chairman of the Elections Commission, told The Associated Press.

[ChicagoHebrew]

My father worked in Oman for several years> Sultan Quaboos (what a name!) is a good man and a genuinely moderate Muslim. Unlike other leaders in the region, he's always given his people a fair amount of freedom and invested some oil earnings in tangible assets.

Unfortuntely, he's also a flagrant homosexual. That's recently become a problem as he's entering his late 50s, and refuse to touch a woman, much less marry one. Hence, he has no heir in an absolute monarchy... looks like he's gradually trying democracy as a way to solve that problem.

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[Tijeras_Slim]

Welcome to FR.

[Truth666]

And of course CNN doesn't mention none of that.

[Pontiac]

Unfortuntely, he's also a flagrant homosexual.

Amazing. How can he carry out foreign policy with his Muslim neighbors? I would think that he would be ostracized.

[ChicagoHebrew]

Oman doesn't have much need for foreign policy. Also, his homosexuality is sort of an open secret. He cavorts around in public with his "bodyguards," his brief marriage was annulled because he refused to perform husbandly duties, etc.-- but it's not mentioned in the newspapers (government run) at all. Everyone knows about it... no one talks about it.

It's actually really common in the Arab world, I'd bet a few Saudi princes have similar appetites. Not to mention Arafat, who used to have wild S&M parties in Romania with the commies.