Qatar goes historic Shura Council polls on Saturday

*252 candidates, including 27 women, in the fray to win two-thirds (30 seats) of the 45-seat Shura Council

 

 

Thousands of Qatari voters will converge on the polling stations on Saturday, Oct 2 as the country marks the historic elections to the Shura Council to choose 30 members from as many constituencies. There are 252 candidates, including 27 women, in the fray to win two-thirds (30 seats) of the 45-seat Shura Council, while the other 15 members will be appointed as stipulated in the Qatari Constitution, official Qatar News Agency reported.Brigadier General Abdulrahman Majid al-Sulaiti, member of the Supervisory Committee of the Shura Council Elections at the Ministry of Interior (MoI), told Qatar TV that after the voting takes place from 8am to 6pm, the head of the committee has ordered the closure of the external gates of the headquarter of the polling stations, which are functioning from schools.He also pointed out that as per Article 40 of Law No 6 for 2021 on the Shura Council's Electoral System, the committee has the right to resolve the issues of the ballots suspected to be invalid. The head of the committee has ordered the exit of all the individuals after the conclusion of the voting process except for the candidates and the volunteers who will count the votes. Then, all the ballots will be emptied from the polling boxes in front of all the candidates or their representatives until all the ballots are accounted for, except those suspected to be invalid and in turn passed on to a judge for verification. Brigadier General al-Sulaiti stressed that the Supervisory Committee has taken all the necessary measures to make the process a success. He pointed out that the voters should follow the regulation of the voting process such as not wearing or putting any image or advertising boards for any candidate or publicly announce voting for a particular candidate, which could result in being deprived of the right to vote by the head of the committee. The official stressed that the head of the committee has the right to expel anyone who violates the rules and regulations outside the voting hall, whether this person is a volunteer, candidate, representative of a candidate or an employee. Further, the police personnel or any person carrying a weapon, even if a licensed one, are not permitted to enter the voting halls.