First municipal election campaign in Doha - Qatar

Doha is currently witnessing wide preparations for the general municipal elections to take place for the first time on February 1, 1999 to choose 29 members to serve four-year terms.

Slogans were raised up in Doha's streets, urging citizens to participate in the elections after registering with the informative committee.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani issued a decree arranging for the central municipal elections and giving the right for citizens to participate as candidates and voters to women.

A supreme committee for elections was formed under the chairmanship of General Ghanem Sutlan El-Hadifi, the undersecretary of the Interior Ministry, who issued an administrative order to form executive committees -- currently in the midst of their work -- to prepare legal, security, informative, technical, supply and setting aspects of the elections.

Concerning the laws governing the municipal council, Interior Minister Sheikh Abdallah Bin Khalifa issued resolutions specifying the election districts and the number of members on the council. The head of the informative committee, Lt Col Rashid al-Ateeq, said they specified 29 election districts, among them 20 in Doha, and 9 spread across the country.