State Council holds first session of new term
Muscat - Upon the Royal Directive of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the State Council held its first session of its first annual sitting of the seventh period (2019-23) on Thursday, under its chairman Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh al Mantheri.
In his welcome address, Dr Mantheri said, “Welcome to the State Council, which His Majesty the Sultan wanted it to be another strong building block in the structure of Omani society, to reinforce the achievements already accomplished and confirming the set principles. It includes the establishment of valid foundations to consolidate the pillars of the Shura march, stemming from the heritage of the nation and its values and Islamic law, proud of the history, taking advantage of the methods of the time and tools.”
He said that the sixth period of the council saw 54 plenary sessions discussing more than 25 draft laws referred by the Council of Ministers and Majlis A’Shura, in addition to reviewing and approving nearly 30 issues and studies dealing with the various economic, social and cultural aspects of the sultanate, in addition to other activities.
Dr Mantheri added, “We witnessed recently the success of the 9th period elections of Majlis A’Shura, praising the good organisation of the elections and the good behaviour of the voters. We congratulate the members of Majlis A'Shura for obtaining the trust of their constituents, wishing them success in their future national and community tasks.”
In this regard, he stressed the cooperation and integration of the State Council with Majlis A’Shura within the Council of Oman to meet the objectives of the council and the aspirations of His Majesty the Sultan. “The sultanate celebrates the anniversary of our 49th Glorious National Day. On this occasion, I am honoured on behalf of all of you and on behalf of the employees of the State Council to extend warmest congratulations to His Majesty the Sultan, praying to Allah the Almighty to grant him good health, happiness and a long life and the Omani people with progress and prosperity under his prosperous reign.”
Dr Khalid bin Salim al Saeedi, Secretary General of the State Council reviewed the requirements of the session, which include a number of procedures.
After that, the members took the legal oath stated in Article (58) repeated (20) of the Basic Law of the State. The council then proceeded to elect the two deputy chairpersons in accordance with Article (58) repeated (4) of the State’s Basic Statute.
Election of deputy chairpersons
The State Council chairman announced the election for the post of deputy chairpersons.
Five members submitted their nominations for the posts.
They were Hon Sheikh Dr Al Khattab bin Ghalib al Hinai, Hon Sayyid Dr Said bin Sultan al Busaidi, Hon Dr Badriah bint Ibrahim al Shehiyah, Hon Sheikh Mansour bin Harith al A’mri and Hon Dr Juma bin Khalifa al Busaidi.
The council elected the following through direct secret ballot: Dr Badriah bint Ibrahim al Shehiyah (58) votes and Dr Al Khattab bin Ghalib al Hinai by a majority of (46) votes as two deputies of the new session of the State Council.
After that, the chairman announced the candidacy for the election of four members of the office of the council.
Thirteen members submitted their candidacies to the council’s office, namely: Hon Dr Said bin Sultan al Busaidi, Hon Dr Saeed bin Mubarak al Mahrmi, Hon Lujinah bint Mohsen al Za’abiyah, Hon Hatim bin Hamad al Taie, Hon Dr Raya bint Salim al Mantheriyah, Hon Dr Abdullah bin Mubarak al Shanfari, Hon Salim bin Najm al Ghailani, Hon Yaqoub bin Yousuf bin Abdullah al Kamsheki, Hon Dr Ahmed bin Ali al Amri, Hon Sheikh Ali bin Nassir al Mahrouqi, Hon Hamad bin Sulaiman bin Hamad al Ghraibi, Hon Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al Shuaili and Hon Dr Dawood bin Salim al Hamdani.
The council elected Hon Dr Said bin Mubarak al Mahrmi, Hon Dr Raya bint Salim al Mantheriyah, Hon Lujinah bint Mohsen al Za’abiyah and Hon Hatim bin Hamad al Ta’ee as members of the office for the seventh period.