The third phase of the Shura Council elections will begin tomorrow after the announcement of the final lists of candidates.
According to the schedule set by the Supervisory Committee for the Shura Council elections, candidates can start their electoral campaigns immediately after the announcement of the final candidate lists. The campaigns will ends 24 hours before the start of the polling process. Around 30 women have registered their candidacy for the elections. Qataris can vote for 30 members of the Shura Council, while H H the Amir will appoint another 15 members. Brigadier Abdullah Khalifa Al Muftah, Head of the Media Committee of the Supervisory Committee for the Shura Council elections, said 14 venues have been provided where the candidates can hold their campaign events free of charge.
Talking to Qatar TV yesterday, he said the venues comprise 9 club halls and 5 youth centres, and have been allocated in coordination with the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
Al Muftah said candidates can contact the media committee for reservations of the venues. “We are preparing these halls with all the means needed by a candidate to hold their programmes and meet voters. The hall reservations will continue throughout the electoral campaign period.” According to the electoral laws, a candidate may not receive funds from foreign or unknown sources, commercial companies, a state, or foreign organisations.
Among the rules announced by the Supervisory Committee to regulate the elections, licensed media houses should observe equality in the treatment of all candidates and adhere to objectivity and impartiality in their coverage.
The candidate must, when campaigning, respect the provisions of the Constitution and the freedom of others to express their opinion. It also said that the candidates should not use the official state emblem or its symbols in meetings, advertisements, electoral bulletins, and all kinds of writings and drawings used in electoral campaigns.
The candidate must remove advertisements, posters, electoral flyers, and any means of electoral propaganda within three days of the end of the electoral process.
The committee also said that a candidate is prohibited, when campaigning, from holding a general election meeting or gathering, except after notifying the security department in whose district the meeting place is located.
It is also prohibited to organise and hold electoral meetings, give speeches, or place posters, advertisements, or pictures in places of worship and religious centres, educational facilities, government facilities, and inside or within 200 metres of an election hall.