2021 Qatari general election

General elections were held in Qatar for the first time on 2 October 2021, following an announcement by the Emir of Qatar on 22 August 2021.[1] The elections for the Consultative Assembly were originally scheduled for the second half of 2013,[2] but were postponed in June 2013 until at least 2016.[3] In 2016 they were postponed again.[4] Finally, in November 2020, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pledged to hold the election in October 2021.[5]

2021 Qatari general election
Qatar
2 October 2021

30 of the 45 seats in the Consultative Assembly
Turnout~63.5%
Party%Seats
Independents

10030
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Chairman of the Consultative Assembly before Chairman of the Consultative Assembly after
Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud
Independent
Hassan bin Abdullah al-Ghanem
Independent

Background

The elections were originally scheduled to be held in the last six months of 2013, but were postponed prior to the retiring Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani transferring power to his son Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.[6] The Consultative Assembly's term was extended until 2016[7] and then until 2019.[4]

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.[8]

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,[9][10] with the remainder appointed by the Emir.[11]

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.[12] The law requires candidates to be at least thirty years old and 'of Qatari origin' (as defined by the 2005 nationality law).[11] This limited voting to those descended from people who held citizenship in 1930,[13] barring people who had been naturalised and members of the Al Murrah tribe from contesting the election and leading to protests.[11]

Campaign

A total of 284 candidates contested the 30 seats, with 29 women running.[13] Political parties are banned and all candidates ran as independents.[14]

Preliminary results

No women were elected.[15] Voter turnout was 63.5%.[16] According to Human Rights Watch, thousands of Qataris were excluded from voting.[17]

ConstituencyElected member
1. Fereej Al KhulaifatAbdulrahman Yousef Abdelrahman Al Khulaifi
2. Fereej Al HitmiAhmed Hitmi Ahmed Al Hitmi
3. Fereej Al SalataAbdullah Ali Jumaa Al Sulaiti
4. Al MirqabIssa Ahmed Issa Nasr Al Nasr
5. Old Al GhanimHassan Abdullah Ghanim Al Ghanim Al Maadeed
6. MushayribKhalid Ghanim Nasser Al Ali Al Maadeed
7. Al JasrahKhalid Ahmed Nasser Ahmed Al Obaidan
8. Al BiddaNasser Salmin Khalid Al Suwaidi
9. Barahat Al JufairiHamad Abdullah Abdulrahman Ali Al Mulla
10. Dawhah al JadidahKhalid Abbas Ali Kamal Al Emadi
11. Rawdat Al KhailNasser Mohsin Mohammed Bukshaisha
12. Al RumeilahIssa Arar Issa Ali Al Rumeihi
13. Fareej Al NajadaMohammed Yousef Abdulrahman Al Manaa
14. South Al WakrahMohammed Muftah Abdulrahman Al Muftah
15. North Al WakrahYousef Ali Yousef Al Khater
16. Al SailiyaAli Futais Al Merri
17. Old RayyanMohammed Bati Salem Khalifa Al Abdullah
18. Al KharaitiyatAli Shbaib Nasser Al Attiyah
19. Al DaayenNasser Metref Essa Al Metref Al Humaidi
20. Al Khor ThakhiraAhmad bin Hamad Al Muhannadi
21. Al MashrabMohammed Eid Saad Al Hassan Al Kaabi
22. Al GhariyahMubarak Mohammed Matar Al Matar Al Kuwari
23. Ar-RuʼaysYousef Ahmed Ali Al Sada
24. Abu DhaloufMohammed Omar Ahmad Al Salem Al Mannai
25. Al JumailNasser Hassan Al Nfeihi Al Kubaisi
26. Al KuwariyaNasser Mohammed Nasser Al Jufaili Al Nuaimi
27. Al Nasraniya and Al KhuraybSultan Hassan Mubarak Al Dabet Al Dosari
28. DukhanMubarak Saif Hamdan Maasad Al Mansouri
29. Al Kharsaah, Ummahat Sawi and Al OwainaAli Saeed Rashed Al Khayareen
30. Rawdat RashedSalem Rashed Salem Rashed Al Muraikhi
Source: Doha News, Gulf Times

References