According to a decree released by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Sunday, Qatar’s first legislative election for two-thirds of the advisory Shura Council will take place on October 2.
Qataris will elect 30 members of the 45-member council, with the remaining 15 members being appointed by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The council will have legislative power and will be in charge of approving basic state policy as well as the budget. Except for bodies that establish the country’s defense, security, economic, and investment policy, it will have power over the executive.
The state-run Qatar News Agency stated that Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Bin Abdulaziz Al Thani urged residents to “participate positively in the first elections to be held in the history of the State of Qatar to form the elected Shura Council.”
“The principle in these elections is the complete conviction that Qataris are equal in rights and duties, and that this principle is achieved by observing the provisions of the Constitution, national traditions and stable customs, and through the established legal and constitutional tools and procedures,” Sheikh Khalid stated.
