Muscat – Omani citizens who are away from the sultanate will cast their votes on Sunday for the third term of the municipal councils through ‘Intakheb vote’ available for download from app stores. The ballot will be cast from 8am till 7pm allowing voters in various countries to cast their vote.

The app has a high level of security; the voter is verified in a safe manner through AI facial recognition, besides reading his/ her identity card electronically without manual intervention.

Voting via the Intakheb app is in four easy steps. After activating the Near Field Communication (NFC) feature, voters will take a picture of their ID card (both sides), place the ID card adjacent to the phone to read the data, after which the voter will take a picture of himself/herself. Next, a list of candidates will appear for the voter to choose a candidate in the wilayat in which he/she is registered. The voter will then click the confirmation button to complete the voting process.

According to the Ministry of Interior, the e-voting process will enable voters in and outside the sultanate to use their phones to elect their candidates to municipal councils for the third term.

The e-voting process stems from the ministry’s keenness to apply best digital practices and to enhance use of modern technologies so that voters can cast their votes in a hassle-free way. For those in Oman, December 25 will be the voting date.