NEW INDICATIONS THAT ELECTIONS WILL TAKE PLACE IN

UNCLAS DOHA 000606

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM QA
SUBJECT: NEW INDICATIONS THAT ELECTIONS WILL TAKE PLACE IN
2008


1. (U) The Qatari Amir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, issued a
decree June 6 which extended the term of the current Advisory
Council to June 30, 2008. The term had been set to end June
30 of this year. The Advisory Council consists of 30 members
appointed by the Amir; it had been extended, with some
changes, on two previous occasions. The announcement was made
on Qatari TV and through the Qatar News Agency. On June 7,
newspapers reported that the Council of Ministers had
approved a draft law governing first-time elections for the
legislative body. The two actions, coming together, indicate
that elections for 30 of what will be a 45-member body may
take place in the first half of 2008.


2. (U) The elections law will govern who has the right to run
for office and who has the right to vote. It is controversial
because, like the country's Nationality Law, it will most
likely grant full citizenship rights to only a minority of
Qataris who can document a lineage in the country back to

1930. The law will be sent back for review to the Advisory
Council, which does not sit again until October. It will then
come back to the Council of Ministers before going to the
Amir for signature.


3. (SBU) The Secretary General of the Advisory Council, Fahad
al-Khayareen, told Emboff that elections for the Advisory
Council would be "a huge project," and the law governing it
would face "serious study." He said the approval of the law
by the Council of Ministers was a sign that elections are
"coming soon."

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Comment
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4. (SBU) Although there has been considerable slippage in
expectations regarding the timing of national elections since
Qatar's constitution was approved by the citizenry in 2003,
it now looks likely that elections will take place in the
first half of 2008. A timetable seems to be taking shape
involving the approval of the election law in the early part
of the year and elections prior to summer holidays. These
signs of coming elections will help deflect the criticism of
those participants at international conferences in Doha who
whispered that Qatar's actions were not in step with its
rhetoric and will help meet the expectations of citizens
whose appetite for democracy was whetted but who then
wondered, will it ever happen?
UNTERMEYER