General elections were held in

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

for the first time on 2 October 2021, following an announcement by the

Emir of Qatar The Emir, or Amir, of the State of Qatar ( ar, أمیر دولة قطر) is the monarch and head of state of the country. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and guarantor of the Constitution. He holds the most powerful positio ...

on 22 August 2021. The elections for the Consultative Assembly were originally scheduled to be held in the second half of 2013, but were postponed in June 2013 until at least 2016. In 2016 they were postponed again.Legislative elections in Qatar postponed until at least 2019
Doha News, 17 June 2016 Finally, in November 2020,

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani ( ar, تميم بن حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني; born 3 June 1980, Doha, Qatar) is the Emir of Qatar who succeeded his father, Sheikh Hamad, after Hamad abdicated in his favour. Tamim is the fourth son ...

pledged to hold the election in October 2021.

Background

The elections were originally scheduled to be held in the last six months of 2013, but were postponed prior to the retiring

Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن خليفة الثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 ...

transferring power to his son

. The Consultative Assembly's term was extended until 2016 and then until 2019. In October 2019 Al Thani issued an order for a committee to be formed to organise the elections, chaired by Prime Minister

Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz Al Thani Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz Al Thani ( ar, خالد بن خليفة بن عبد العزيز آل ثاني; born 1968) is a Qatari politician who has served as Prime Minister of Qatar and Minister of the Interior since 28 January 2 ...

Electoral system

Men and women aged over 18 are eligible to vote for 30 of the 45 seats in the Consultative Assembly according to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, with the remainder appointed by the Emir. On 29 July 2021, Al Thani approved the electoral law, which mandated the thirty members being elected from single-member constituencies by

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

. The law requires candidates to be at least thirty years old and 'of Qatari origin' (as defined by the 2005

nationality law Nationality law is the law of a sovereign state, and of each of its jurisdictions, that defines the legal manner in which a national identity is acquired and how it may be lost. In international law, the legal means to acquire nationality and for ...

). This limited voting to those descended from people who held citizenship in 1930, barring people who had been naturalised and members of the

Al Murrah The Al Murrah ( ar, آل مرة) (singular 'Al Marri)' is an Arab tribe descended from the well-known Banu Yam tribe. They reside in countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Wadi Amad of Yemen. Historically, ...

tribe from contesting the election and leading to protests.

Campaign

A total of 284 candidates contested the 30 seats, with 29 women running.Qatari voters weigh in on first legislative elections
Al Jazeera, 2 October 2021 Political parties are banned and all candidates ran as independents.

Preliminary results

No women were elected. Voter turnout was 63.5%. According to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

, thousands of Qataris were excluded from voting.

References

External links

Shura Council Election Supervisory Committee
{{Qatari elections Elections in Qatar

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Non-partisan elections Election and referendum articles with incomplete results