Political Participation in Qatar: The Central Municipal Council Elections (1999–2019)

Abstract

Qatari citizens have been electing the Central Municipal Council (CMC) every four years since elections were first instituted in 1999. Although elections for the Consultative Council have been announced on numerous occasions since 2003, until today, the CMC remains the only elective Qatari institution. With local attributions, the CMC is a single body at national level, made up of 29 members who have neither executive nor legislative powers and whose role is limited to advising the Ministry of Municipalities on problems that arise in every municipality of the country. Although Qatari authorities have shown great interest in carrying out exemplary elections, the interest shown by citizens has not been comparable and instead showed a very low registration rate on the electoral roll and a decreasing voter turnout since 2015. This chapter addresses the question of why Qatari citizens have been reluctant to engage in the only election conducted in the country in high numbers, as could be expected and although they clearly express interest in ‘political issues’ in a number of different surveys. A preliminary conclusion for this question is the lack of attributions granted to the CMC and the low added value that the CMC has for the Qatari population.