DOHA: Qataris went to the polls Tuesday to vote for members of their main elected body amid muted enthusiasm for the central advisory council that has little power in the wealthy Gulf Arab state.
Some 101 candidates, including four women, were vying for 29 seats on the council, which advises on issues related to public health, infrastructure and environment but does not deal with broader national issues. Turnout was expected to be low.
“Crucially, people know that the power of those elected is highly limited,” said David Roberts, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute based in Doha.
The country’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, seized power from his father in a bloodless coup in 1995 and subsequently introduced municipal elections to pave the way for a measure of democracy.
Qatar has long put off holding a first parliamentary election as the ruling family has been reluctant to give up its monopoly on power.
“I’m not voting. We’ve not seen any benefits since the last few elections. The streets in my area are very bad and haven’t been fixed. These people are just for show,” government employee Ahmad Muftah, 38, said.
Salim Ali, 40, is also a government employee. He said: “It’s always the same. Lots of talk but no results, nothing happens.”
Analysts said voting, in a country with only 32,000 registered voters out of a population of 250,000 nationals, was likely to fall along tribal lines, with turnout expected to be less than 50 percent.