The Qatari Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday that the country has formed a committee that will be responsible for overseeing the first legislative elections scheduled to be held in October. The ministry stated on its Twitter account, "His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, issued decision No. (53) for the year 2021 to establish the supervisory committee and the executive committees concerned with the Shura Council elections and to define their competencies, as part of the Ministry of Interior's preparations for holding the Shura Council elections."
The elections will be to choose two-thirds of the council members, meaning 30 members out of a total of 45 in the Shura Council. The Emir of the country will appoint 15 members instead of appointing all council members as is currently practiced. The ministry indicated on Twitter that the Prime Minister has ordered the formation of a supervisory committee headed by officials from the Ministry of Interior.
Qatar already holds local elections, but it has not yet published the electoral system law for the Shura Council nor set a voting date. Last month, Sheikh Khalid stated that the draft electoral law approved by the Cabinet in May would limit campaign spending and criminalize foreign funding and vote buying. He added that the country is divided into thirty electoral constituencies. Qatar is the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world and is set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qataris make up about ten percent of the 2.7 million residents in the country, the majority of whom are foreign workers.
