Poll preparations on: FM

11/27/2005 3:32:1
Source ::: The Peninsula

Doha: Qatar is ready to formally join the family of democratic nations by holding its first-ever parliamentary election.

“Preparations are currently under way to hold the first-ever parliamentary poll in the history of Qatar,” First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani told a key convention of Nato and Middle East that he opened here yesterday.

In his welcome address, he said the elections were to be held as per the new Constitution issued on June 8, 2004, which was endorsed by an overwhelming majority in April 2003.

The Constitution guarantees civil liberties and basic freedom and puts in place guidelines governing relationship between the ruled and the rulers and enshrines the principles of good governance, including accountability and transparency.

Universal suffrage is a key element of the Constitution and elections will be free and fair with women having full political rights. They would not only be able to use their franchise but could also run for public office, the First Deputy Premier said amid applause. The Constitution guarantees gender equality.

As per the Constitution, the Advisory Council represents the legislative authority. And, from the Constitutional viewpoint, it stands for the country’s parliament, he pointed out.

Qatar was committed to transforming itself into a modern state on the basis of the Constitution and the rule of law and to guaranteeing civil rights and defining the privileges and obligations of citizenship in a society based on reform and development.

“This policy pursued at the highest level in the state in running internal affairs, has been an indigenous (home-grown) output visualised by the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani since he assumed office in 1995,” the First Deputy Premier noted.

This was years before the 9/11 events and long before any initiative to promote reform and democratisation in the region was launched.

Qatar has taken long strides on the path of democratisation and gone a long way in broadening the scope for people’s participation in running the country’s affairs by contributing to decision-making and to the building up of constitutional institutions, he said.

He expressed confidence that dialogue-based parliamentary cooperation would surely enrich Qatar’s fledging constitutional experience, as it would familiarise the Nato parliamentary group with the specific traditions, culture and characterstics featuring the Qatari society and the exercise of democracy.