Qatar is holding its first elections on Saturday to choose members of its top advisory panel, known as the Shura Council.
Following an announcement by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on August 22, the October 2 election is for 30 members of the 45-seat Shura Council, a body previously appointed entirely by the Emir, which serves as an advisory chamber. Sheikh Tamim will appoint the remaining 15 members.
Candidate registration opened in August, when the Supervisory Committee for the Shura Council elections began receiving applications.
The final list of 284 candidates was released on September 15, including 28 women, from a total of 30 electoral districts.
Last week, the Shura Council Elections Supervisory Committee - the formation of which Sheikh Tamim ordered in November last year - met to clarify the mechanisms of the electoral process.
Mr Abdelrahman Al Malki, a member of the supervisory committee, reviewed regulations that should be followed on election day, such as insisting on voters’ commitment to wearing a mask and adhering to social distancing regulations and health procedures.
What is Qatar’s Shura Council?
On May 20, the cabinet approved a draft law on elections to the Shura Council, where it will take on the powers of a legislative body following the elections.
The Shura Council will have the power to dismiss ministers, propose laws, and approve or reject the country’s national budget. But ultimately Sheikh Tamim has the power of veto.
“What differentiates the elected council from its previously appointed predecessor is that its members can interpellate and call a vote of no-confidence in ministers to dismiss them,” Dr Hend Al Mufta, one of the first female Qataris appoint by Sheikh Tamim, said.
The Shura Council also represents Qatar in numerous parliamentary associations and international organisations, such as the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Arab Parliament and the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States.
In accordance with the Emiri Decree No. 37 of 2021, the country was divided into 30 electoral districts, each will elect one representative.
While Qatar’s Shura Council was established in 1972, plans to hold the elections were ratified more than 15 years ago.
Over the years, the council has been given the task of assisting the Emir and 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.
By 1975 the Shura Council grew, with 10 more appointed members, increasing the number of representatives to 30. Four women were first appointed in 2017 to the council by Emir Tamim.
The country’s leadership had previously committed to holding elections in 2007 and 2010, and repeated its pledge for 2013. None of the elections took place for various reasons. The Shura Council term was then extended until 2016 and then until 2019.
The Council typically runs for four calendar years commencing from the date of the first meeting.
A Shura Council membership can end in the event of death, total disability, expiration of membership term, resignation, termination of membership, or dissolution of the Shura Council.
Who can run for elections?
Under the new draft law, candidates must be able to run based on the constitution and legal rules of constitutional nature.
Candidates must be originally Qatari and aged 30 and above by the closing date of the nomination. They must also be fluent in reading and writing in Arabic.
If the first requirements are met, nominees then register in their electoral district and must then continue to maintain good reputation and conduct while keeping their criminal record clean.
Candidates working at ministries or other government entities whose names are included in the final lists of candidates are given unpaid leave throughout the elections if they do not have a sufficient leave balance.
The maximum expenditure of each candidate during their electoral campaign must not exceed two million Qatari riyals.
Candidates have the freedom to withdraw their nomination seven days ahead of the election day by submitting a form to the committee.
Qataris number about 333,000, but only descendants of those who were citizens in 1930 will be eligible to vote and stand, disqualifying members of families naturalised since then.
Some members of the sizable Al-Murrah tribe are among those who face being excluded from the electoral process, sparking a fierce debate online.
Experts have suggested that representatives of those groups excluded could be among those directly appointed by the emir.
Election campaigning began following the announcement of the final list of candidates and must end 24 hours prior to the start of the voting process on October 1.
The voting process will begin on Saturday, where polling stations will open their doors at 8am and will continue working until 6pm. The names of elected members of the Shura Council will be announced in the evening.
'Joker'
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: Five out of five stars
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
ARSENAL IN 1977
Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal
Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 05 Arsenal 1-4 ipswich
March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom
Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Apr 02 Arsenal 3-0 Leicester
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Results
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m; Winner: Ghaiyyath, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Cliffs Of Capri, Tadhg O’Shea, Jamie Osborne.
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Zakouski, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: Waady, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
Stage 5 results
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53
2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -
3 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott -
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:04
5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07
General Classification:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04
2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48
5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Raghida, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,200m
Winner: Basmah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 2 (PA) Dh300,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Trolius, Ryan Powell, Simon Crisford
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
