The committee oversees the election of two-thirds of the 45 seats of the Shura Council, which advises the Qatari ruler.
Qatar has set up a committee to oversee its first parliamentary elections, which are due to take place in October, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
The by-elections will be two-thirds, or 30 members, of Shura MPs with 45 seats. Sheikh Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will appoint 15 members, not the entire council as they do today.
Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, who is also the interior minister, has called for the formation of a steering committee headed by interior ministry officials, the ministry said on Twitter.
Qatar, which already has urban elections, did not publish the election law to the Shura Council or set a specific voting date. Like other Gulf Arab states, Qatar has banned political parties.
Sheikh Khalid last month said the election law-approved law in May would limit campaign spending and foreign exchange and vote-buying.
He also said that a small but rich country, which supplies the largest amount of oil in the world for the 2022 World Cup, was divided into 30 constituencies.
Sheikh Khalid also said that there is no compulsion from Qatari citizens to vote in Shura elections.
He also expressed his commitment to the Emir of Qatar to move forward “and strengthen the role of the Shura Council in establishing legislative mechanisms and increasing international participation,” he told Qatari reporters last month.
Over the past few months, Qatar has been working on legislation and legal instruments, including electoral laws.
This comes after Sheikh Tamim ordered in November last year to set up a voting committee, a few years later.
The Qataris make up about 10 percent of the estimated 2.7 million people, most of whom are foreign workers.
Kuwait is the only government in the Gulf to give power to an elected parliament, which would block legislation and question the cabinet, although elections are necessary for the governor.
Bahrain and Oman have elections for a single parliamentary seat with limited powers.
The Saudi Arabian Council is elected. In the United Arab Emirates, the government approves citizens who are allowed to vote for half of their council members.
