.jpg?20250328')
Qatar will hold a rare referendum for citizens to vote on a set of constitutional amendments, including a proposal that would abandon an effort to introduce elections, the Amir, Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said yesterday.
Qatar held its first ever elections in 2021 to choose two-thirds of the members of the advisory Shura Council.
The Amir called the elections ‘an experiment’ that was reviewed and led the government to propose the constitutional amendments.
“The Shura Council is not a representative parliament in a democratic system, and its status and powers will not be affected whether its members are chosen by election or appointment,” he said in his annual speech to open the council’s session.
The council will review the draft amendments and put them to a referendum, Shaikh Tamim said.
The referendum results will be binding, a Qatari official told Reuters.
Qatar’s first legislative election was approved in a 2003 constitutional referendum, but did not take place until 2021.
&uuid=(email))