Qatar flag Qatar: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Qatar

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
Emir of Qatar: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (since 25 June 2013)
Prime Minister: Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman Al Thani (since 7 March 2023)
Next Election Dates
Works for holding the country's first legislative election were inaugurated in October 2019. General elections were held in Qatar for the first time on 2 October 2021, following an announcement by the Emir of Qatar on 22 August. A total of 284 candidates contested the 30 seats, with 29 women running. All candidates ran as independents.Voter turnout was 63.5%.
Next election: 2025
Main Political Parties
The Qatari citizens enjoy limited political rights, and the formation of political parties is prohibited in the country. The only elections are for an advisory municipal council, and all candidates for municipal elections run as independents. Legislative elections for the Advisory Council are yet to be held.
Executive Power
The chief of state is the Emir, a hereditary title. Though the country is formally a constitutional monarchy, the Emir exercises the executive power and has the mandate to approve or reject legislation after consultation with an Advisory Council.
The Emir also appoints the Prime Minister and approves the formation of the Council of Ministers upon recommendation of the Prime Minister.
Legislative Power
Qatar’s legal system is a mix of civil law and Islamic law (sharia). The Advisory Council (or Majlis al-Shura) can draft and approve laws, but the final say is in the hands of the Emir. The Council has 45 members, 30 of whom are elected by direct, general secret ballot, while 15 are appointed by the Emir. The Council of Ministers can also propose draft laws and decrees to the Advisory Council.
Sharia law is applied to laws related to family law, inheritance, and several criminal acts.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
128/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Not Free
Political Freedom:
6/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: May 2024