Qatar opens candidate registration for its first legislative elections in October

Qatar opened candidate registration for its first legislative elections Sunday, AFP correspondents saw, announcing the much-delayed polls would be held on October 2 in a test of the autocratic nation's democratic credentials. Elections to the 45-seat shura council, as proposed under a 2004 constitution, have been postponed repeatedly and its members have instead been directly named by the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Only descendants of Qataris who were citizens in 1930 will be eligible to vote and stand, disqualifying members of families naturalised since that year. Some members of the sizable al-Murra tribe are among those who face being excluded from the electoral process, sparking a fierce debate online. [...] Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani said that the polls, "the first in Qatar's history... must preserve national unity", according to the official Qatar News Agency.
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