Qataris will go to polls for the first time to elect members of the advisory Shura Council endowed with legislative authority on October 02, following a decision by the country’s ruler Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani.
Voters will elect 30 members of the 45-seat body while Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will continue to appoint the remaining 15 members.
The council will have legislative authority and approve general state policies and the budget. It also exercises control over the executive, except for bodies setting defense, security, economic and investment policy, Doha-based news network Al Jazeera notes. The Supervisory Committee for the Shura Council elections also launched Sunday the registration process for candidates of the upcoming vote.
Qatar will become the second country in the Gulf region after Kuwait to give substantial power to an elected parliament.
The coming election, Al Jazeera further notes, has sparked some debate on electoral inclusion after some members of a tribe found themselves ineligible to vote under a law restricting voting to Qataris whose family was present in Qatar before 1930. The electoral law, based on a constitution approved in a 2003 referendum, could be reviewed by a new Shura Council.
Qatar sets October 02 as date for first legislatives
