Voter registration kicks off, to continue until May 4

Doha: Registration of citizens as voters for the elections of the 7th session of the Central Municipal Council (CMC), scheduled for June 22, started yesterday in 29 constituencies.

The voter registration process is taking place manually at the polling stations, from 4pm until 7pm, or electronically round the clock via Metrash2. It will conclude on Thursday, May 4.

Citizens have to register themselves at their electoral district or via Metrash2 using their IDs address.

A person cannot register in more than one electoral district.

The Ministry of the Interior (MoI) said that people who are already registered can request to change their electoral district based on their current residence.

Election officials at a voter registration office. PIC: Abdul Basit

In statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA), several heads of voter registration committees confirmed that the registration process on the first day went smoothly in light of the preparations made by the MoI, especially those related to providing the committees with appropriate technological systems for the registration process.

The supervisory committee for the 7th CMC elections had selected a public school in each of the 29 constituencies as electoral headquarters.

In a statement issued on April 4, the committee underscored its keenness to select suitable schools to be electoral venues in terms of the availability of all facilities and requirements to facilitate the various electoral stages for the citizens. 

According to the timetable, it was decided that the stage of receiving applications for voter registration will be from April 30 to May 4. Initial lists of voters will be announced on May 7, and the same day will begin the stage of receiving applications for appeals and grievances, which continues until May 11.

It was also decided that the stage of adjudication of appeals and grievances about the voter lists will take place from May 8 to 18, followed by the stage of announcing the final voter lists on May 21.

The committee set the stage for receiving nomination applications from May 21 to May 25. The announcement of the initial lists of candidates will take place on May 28, 2023, and the stage of receiving applications for appeals and grievances against the candidates’ lists will begin on the same day and continue until June 5.

The process of adjudicating appeals will begin from May 29 to June 8, followed by the announcement of the final lists of candidates on June 11, and then the start of the electoral campaign on the same day, which continues until the electoral silence phase that precedes polling day.

The conditions that must be met by the voter are that his original nationality is Qatari or that 15 years have passed since he acquired Qatari nationality, his age is not less than 18 years on May 4, 2023, has not previously been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or the trust unless he is restituted, he resides in the electoral district in which he has the right to vote, and is not a worker in the armed forces or the police.