Too Many Voices

Qatar will hold a referendum to end elections for the advisory Shura Council, the country’s leader announced this week, likely ending a short-lived experiment with representative government in one of the Gulf’s most politically stable states, the Associated Press reported.

In his annual address to the Shura Council, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani announced there will be a constitutional referendum on the matter, but did not provide a date for the vote.

The referendum would affect the 45-member advisory body that drafts laws, approves budgets and advises the ruler.

Qatar held its first elections for 30 of the legislative body’s seats in 2021, but Sheikh Tamim described these elections as an “experiment” that sparked tribal tensions in a country where governance has long been based on consensus.

The electoral law restricts voting to descendants of Qataris who were citizens in 1930, while excluding some groups, such as members of the Al-Murrah tribe. The exclusions led to sporadic protests and arrests at the time.

The emir stressed that the council is “not a representative parliament in a democratic system” and emphasized Qatar’s unique governance model, Agence France-Presse noted.

Political analysts suggested that returning to appointed council members could reduce tribal tensions by ensuring representation for major tribes while giving the ruling family more control.

Others said that Qatar’s retreat from elected governance reflects a broader regional trend.

In May, Kuwait’s emir dissolved parliament, an absence that is to last as long as four years, reducing the Gulf’s most vocal legislative body to an advisory role. Gulf states – predominately ruled by hereditary monarchs with vast oil and gas wealth – have largely scaled back on democratic reforms introduced under US influence after the Sept. 11 attacks and amid the 2011 Arab Spring protests.

The United States has not commented on Qatar’s announcement. Washington maintains strong ties with Qatar, which is home to the massive Al-Udeid Air Base that hosts the forward headquarters of the US military’s Central Command.