DOHA: A veteran former public representative has said that the low voter registration for the Central Municipal Council (CMC) election this May is because people have lost trust in the representative body since it lacks executive authority.
People generally feel that CMC recommendations are not taken seriously by the government and that explains the low voter registration for the fifth term of the CMC, said Hamad Abdullah Al Marri (pictured).
Al Marri was chairman of the first term of the CMC elected in March 1999.
A little more than 19,000 voters have registered for the election while over 32,000 had registered for the 2011 election.
Al Marri told the local Arabic daily Al Watan in comments published yesterday that the CMC should be given with more powers to make its role more effective.
The CMC is a public representative body. It reflects views and aspirations of the people, so it should be given more authority, he said.
Al Marri said the law regulating the CMC election should be amended and it should be made mandatory that only graduates can contest the CMC election.
The law, amended in 2011, says any citizen keen to contest the CMC election should be 30 and be able to read and write.
The education level in Qatari society has improved substantially since the law was enacted in 1998 (and amended in 2011) so this rule should be changed. Educated members of the CMC can serve society better, said Al Marri.
The Peninsula
