Andrew Mills, Lisa Barrington

DOHA, Reuters – Qataris began voting Saturday for the first legislative elections of two-thirds in the Gulf Arab country’s advisory Shura Council. The vote has sparked internal debates about citizenship and electoral inclusion.

The first vote began to trickle into the polling stations. Voters entered their sections separately in order to elect thirty members of this 45-seat body. The Council’s remaining 15 members will be appointed by the ruling emir.

Munira (a writer of children’s books) said to Reuters that she feels this chapter is beginning with the opportunity to vote. “I am really pleased with the number of candidates who are women.”

The Council https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/qatars-emir-approves-electoral-law-first-legislative-polls-2021-07-29 will enjoy legislative authority and approve general state policies and the budget, but has no control over executive bodies setting defence, security, economic and investment policy for the small but wealthy gas producer, which bans political parties.

Around 183 people are hoping to win in stations throughout 30 Districts of the country. This election has been held for many years.

There have been many campaigns that took place via social media, community meetings, and roadside billboards.

Khalid Almutawah, who is running for the Markhiya District candidate said that “This experience was a new one” “We want to make our society better and do everything we can to support our country’s people.”

According to Allen Fromherz (director of Georgia State University’s Middle East Studies Center), the election shows Qatar’s ruling al–Thani family “taking seriously” the idea of sharing symbolically power with other Qatari tribe groups.

In 2003, Doha hosted the World Cup Soccer tournament. The vote was passed in constitutional referendum. Criticians have criticized the narrowness of voting eligibility.

A VOTING “EXPERIMENT”

Qatar’s deputy prime-minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said last month that the vote was a new experiment and the Council should not expect to be able to take on the role of any other parliament from its inaugural year.

Kuwait is the only Gulf monarchy that has granted substantial power to an elected parliament, though the ultimate decision-making remains with the ruler as it does in neighboring countries.

Qatar is home to a large number of international workers, making it the top producer of liquefied petroleum products in the world. This means that only 10% of its population, which amounts to 2.8 million, are Qataris. However, not all Qataris can vote.

After members of the main tribe discovered they were not eligible to vote, a law restricting voting rights to Qataris born before 1930 made them more sensitive to tribal sentiments.

Foreign minister said that there was a clear process for electoral law review by the Shura Council.

Kristin Diwan, of the Arab Gulf States Institute (Washington) stated that “the Qatari leadership has proceeded cautiously. They have restricted participation in significant manners and maintained important controls over political debate and outcomes.”

However, popular politics are unpredictable she stated. With the development of this forum, Qataris could see themselves differently in terms of their rights and role.

Human Rights Watch stated that thousands are exempted from the country’s borders. Al Murra tribe members led small demonstrations that were against the law in August.

According to the organisation, Qatar had arrested approximately 15 protestors and opponents of law. According to a Qatari source, two people are still being held “inciting violence or hate speech”, according to a report.