Qatar to hold first legislative polls in 2013

The election will be the first to the Advisory Council

Qatar plans to hold the first elections to its advisory legislative council in the second half of 2013, HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said yesterday.
The election will be the first to the Advisory Council, 30 of whose 45 members will be elected and the others appointed by the Emir under a constitution approved in 2003. All the body’s current members are appointed.
“We have decided that the Shura (Advisory) Council elections would be held in the second half of 2013,” HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa said in a speech to the body.
“We know that all these steps are necessary to build the modern State of Qatar and the Qatari citizen who is capable of dealing with the challenges of the time and building the country. We are confident that you would be capable of shouldering the responsibility,” he said.
“We must not only congratulate ourselves on our achievements, but we have to check whether our visions and aspirations are compatible with the expectations and hopes of our people,” Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa said.
Qatar has been a major supporter of the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and actively backed Libyan rebels who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.
“Qatar played a major role supporting democracy in countries like Libya, so this decision helps build the narrative of Qatar as a pro-democracy force,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at Brookings Doha Center.
“One criticism was that it wasn’t meeting expectations on domestic reform. That is now addressed as it makes greater representation for citizens at home,” Hamid said. “The world is turning its eyes towards Qatar, so Qatar has to be concerned about how others are seeing it.”
Declaring open the 40th session of the Advisory Council, the Emir said: “I can assure with a satisfied conscience that we really stand on solid ground, thanks to our joint efforts, and we have always given prominence to justice and equity, considering them as human values that do not exclude the Arab people.”
The Emir stressed that Qatar’s economy was safe from risk after overcoming the negative effects of the global financial crisis. “The country achieved its development targets according to the vision and strategy that have been laid down.”
Qatar’s economy has been rated as one of the top five economies in the world.
Despite Qatar’s many achievements, the Emir said that diligent work must be continued to diversify its economy and reduce dependency on oil and gas.
The Emir referred to the recent increase in the salaries of Qatari citizens both in the state and public sector, saying the pay hike at such rates was an initial strategic step related to the rising rates of growth and to redress the grievances of those who complained of low salaries.