Shura Council

Qatar’s Shura Council was established in 1972, following the passing of the Amended Provisional Basic Law of Rule in the State of Qatar on 19 April 1972, to assist His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, and the Council of Ministers in the performance of their duties.

The Shura Council originally had 20 appointed members, a composition which has been subsequently amended on several occasions. The current Council sits 45 members.

In November 2020, His Highness the Amir announced that Shura Council elections would be taking place for the first time in 2021. This is part of Qatar’s ambition to develop its legislative process with wider citizen participation, reflecting the values of the Qatari Constitution and Qatar National Vision 2030.

The Council assumes the following functions in accordance with the Constitution:

• Legislative authority.
• Approving the general budget of the government.
• Exercising control over the executive authority, as specified in the Constitution.
• The Shura Council shall have the right to forward proposals relative to public matters to the government. If the government is unable to comply with such aspirations, it must give its reasons to the Council. The Council may comment only once on the government’s statement.

The term of office of the Shura Council shall be four calendar years commencing from the date of the first meeting.

The Shura Council represents Qatar in numerous parliamentary associations and international organisations. This includes the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Arab Parliament, the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States, the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, and the Association of Senates, Shura & Equivalent Councils in Africa & the Arab World.

Shura Council Formation

The Shura Council comprises a total of 45 members, 30 of whom are directly elected via secret general ballot, whilst the remaining 15 are appointed by HH the Amir. Shura Council membership shall end in the event of death, total disability, expiration of membership term, resignation, termination of membership, or dissolution of the Shura Council.

Appointments to the Shura Council

On 10 October 2021, in accordance with Amiri Decision No. 54 of 2021, His Highness the Amir appointed Dr Ahmed Nasser Ibrahim Al Fadala to serve as Secretary-General of the Shura Council. On 14 October 2021, Amiri Decision No. 56 of 2021 was issued, in which HH the Amir appointed 15 members to the Shura Council.

Shura Council Elections

In realisation of the vision of HH the Amir, as announced in his speech at the opening of the 49^th session of the Shura Council in 2020, the first legislative elections to pick members of the elected Shura Council took place on Saturday, 2 October 2021.

The voting process began at 8:00 am and continued until 6:00 pm. Qatari citizens were keen to show the spirit of responsible citizenship and fulfil the national duty of effective participation in this historic event, with 63.5% of the total registered voters casting their votes.

The results of the first Shura Council elections as approved by the elections committees are as follows:

1. Abdul Rahman Yousuf Abdul Rahman Al Khulaifi
2. Ahmed Hetmi Ahmed Al Hetmi
3. Abdullah Ali Jumua Al Sulaiti
4. Eisa Ahmed Eisa Nasr Al Nasr
5. Hassan Abdullah Ghanem Al Ghanem Al Maadheed (Elected unanimously)
6. Khalid Ghanem Nasser Al Ali Al Maadheed
7. Khalid Ahmed Nasser Ahmed Al Obaidan
8. Nasser Salmeen Khalid Al Suwaidi
9. Hamad Abdullah Abdul Rahman Ali Al Mulla
10. Khalid Abbas Ali Kamal Al Emadi
11. Nasser Muhsin Muhammed Bu Kasheesha
12. Eisa Arar Eisa Ali Al Rumaihi
13. Muhammed Yousef Abdul Rahman Al Mana
14. Muhammed Muftah Abdul Rahman Al Muftah
15. Yousuf Ali Yousuf Al Khatir
16. Ali Muhsin Abdullah Rashid Futais
17. Muhammed Buti Salem Khalifa Al Abdallah
18. Ali Shabeeb Nasser Al Atiyya
19. Nasser Metref Eisa Al Metref Al Humaidi
20. Ahmed Hamad Ahmed Al Hassan Al Muhannadi
21. Muhammed Eid Saad Al Hasan Al Kaabi
22. Mubarak Muhammed Matar Al Matar Al Kuwari
23. Yousuf Ahmed Ali Al Sada
24. Muhammed Omer Ahmed Al Salem Al Mannai
25. Nasser Hassan Dandoun Al Nufaihi Al Kubaisi
26. Nasser Muhammed Nasser Al Jaffali Al Nuaimi
27. Sultan Hassan Mubarak Al Dhabit Al Dosari
28. Mubarak Saif Hamdan Mesaf Al Mansouri
29. Ali Saeed Rashid Al Kumait Al Khayarin
30. Salem Rashed Salem Rashed Al Muraikhi

The names of those appointed to the Shura Council by HH the Amir are as follows:

1. Yousef Ahmed Ali Omran Al Kuwari
2. Saad Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Ibrahim Al Muhannadi
3. Badi Ali Mohammed Al-Badi
4. Mohammed Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Muslim
5. Muhammad Mahdi Ajyan Al-Ahbabi
6. Sheikha Yousef Al-Jufairi
7. Ahmed Ibrahim Rashid Al-Maliki
8. Saud Jassim Mohammed Al Buainain
9. Saad Ahmed Abdullah Al-Misnad
10. Muhammad Mansour Khalil Al Khalil Al-Shahwani
11. Hamda Hassan Abdulrahman Abudhaain Al-Sulaiti
12. Ahmed Sultan Muhammad Sabah Al-Asiri
13. Abdullah Jaber Muhammad Libdeh
14. Abdullah Nasser Turki Al-Subaie
15. Umair Abdullah Khalid Aljabr Al-Nuaimi

Electoral districts

In accordance with Amiri Decree No. 37 of 2021, the country will be divided into 30 electoral districts, each of which will elect one representative.

Candidate nominations

Those who wish to nominate themselves as a candidate and run in the elections must:

• Be of Qatari origin.
• Be no less than thirty calendar years of age at the close of nominations.
• Be fluent in the reading and writing of Arabic.
• Be registered in the electoral district in which they are running.
• Be of good reputation and civilised conduct.
• Must not have been convicted by a competent court of law for an offence involving immoral behaviour or dishonesty, unless rehabilitated in accordance with the Law.
• Be eligible to vote as determined by the electoral law.

 

Election Day

His Highness the Amir issued Decree No. 40 of 2021 setting 2 October 2021 as the date for electing members of the Shura Council.

The voting process will begin on Saturday, 2 October 2021. Polling stations will open their doors at 8:00 am and will continue working until 6:00 pm.

The names of elected members of the Shura Council will be announced on the evening of the election day (2 October 2021).

Election Campaigns

Election campaigning will begin following the announcement of the final list of candidates on Wednesday, 15 September 2021, and must end 24 hours prior to the start of the voting process on Friday, 1 October 2021.

The maximum expenditure of each candidate during their electoral campaign must not exceed two million Qatari riyals.

During the campaign, candidates must respect the constitution and the freedom of others to express their opinion. They must maintain national unity and community safety, and must not offend any other candidate. Candidates cannot incite tribal or sectarian strife among citizens and society in any way.

Timeline for the 2021 Shura Council elections

 

You can visit the Shura Council Elections Supervisory Committee website for more information about the Shura Council elections.