Qataris vote in first legislative polls

Qataris were voting in the emirate's first legislative election on Saturday, a symbolic nod to democracy that analysts say will not lead to power shifting away from the ruling family. The vote is for 30 members of the 45-strong Shura Council, a body with limited powers that was previously appointed by the emir as an advisory chamber.

Polls close at 1500 GMT and results are expected the same day. Voting began at 0500 GMT. More than one-third of the entire field, 101 candidates, had dropped out of the race by Saturday afternoon according to state-run Qatar TV, apparently to support other candidates in their constituencies. After the withdrawals, there were 183 candidates in contention for the 30 seats. The remaining 15 will be appointed by the emir.

Beyond single-candidate town hall meetings, posters and ads, the country's electoral exercise has been limited, with no change of government possible and political parties outlawed. Candidates have uniformly avoided debate about Qatar's foreign policy or status as a monarchy, instead focussing on social issues.


All candidates had to be approved by the powerful interior ministry and just one in 10 of the originally confirmed candidates were women. Most of Qatar's 2.5 million residents are foreigners, ineligible to vote.