Introduction:
The first municipal council in Qatar was formed in the early 1950s and it was reorganized in 1956. Doha municipality came into being in May 1963. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs was established in 1972 as a government body responsible for supervising the functions of municipalities.

Decree No 4 for 1963 organized, for the first time, the election and appointment of the members of the municipal council. Law No 11for 1963 followed. It stipulated that the municipal council is formed by a decree and that the appointment of the members is based on the nomination of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture. The first joint meeting of municipal councils in the country was held in 1983. Most of the credit goes to this meeting in deciding to form a central municipal council to replace the numerous municipal councils.

The Central Municipal Council:
The idea to form the municipal council by direct elections was revived when H.H. the Emir of Qatar issued the Law No 12 for 1998 organizing the election law of the Central Municipal Council. H.H. also issued the Emiri Decree No 17 for 1998 on the election of the members of the Central Municipal Council. Several committees were subsequently formed. They included the legal, security, and information, technical, supply, and follow up committees. A preparatory committee was also formed under the patronage of Her Highness the wife of H.H. the Emir to carry out an awareness program for women, emphasizing the importance of their participation in the elections both as candidates and voters.

248 candidates including 6 women contested the 4-year term of 29 seats. Polling date was set for Monday the 8th of March 1999, and 21,995 eligible males and females registered to cast their votes in their respective constituencies.

The election experience was very well received publicly and officially and the response was overwhelming by all sectors of the Qatari society, males and females alike. The participation of women as voters and candidates invited a wide-range and favorable echo, locally and internationally. 35 Arab and foreign parliamentarians were hosted to oversee the conduct of the first elections in the country.

The Qatari democratic practice exceeded the surrounding experiences in four aspects: voting age was brought down to 18, which expands the scope of participation in the democratic process, the Qatari media was utilized in an unprecedented manner in the Gulf region by giving live coverage of the debates and discussions between candidates and voters, women were allowed to participate as voters and candidates for the first time and a headquarters was provided in each constituency, where the 29 members of the Council can hold discussions and meetings with their electorates.

Voting Regulations:
The Emiri Decree No 17 for 1998 specified the regulations governing the elections of the members of the Central Municipal Council. All Qatari males and females that fulfil the following conditions have the right to cast their votes:
1. They must be of Qatari origin, or have been naturalized citizens for a period of at least 15 years.
2. They must be 18 years of age.
3. They must not be indicted on a criminal charge of breach of trust or honesty. Otherwise they must have been rehabilitated.
4. The constituency must be the real place of residence for respective voters.
5. They must not be members of the armed forces or security forces.

The Council is formed of 29 members representing constituencies spreading over 230 regions in the State of Qatar. The membership term in the Council is 4 years.

The Council Sessions:
On the 4th of May 1999 H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar issued a decree inviting the Central Municipal Council to hold its first meeting in full attendance to elect the Council's Chairman and Deputy Chairman from among its members by secret ballot.
The Council holds its ordinary meetings in Doha and in public once every two weeks. Extraordinary meetings must be requested by one third of the members. The meetings are considered regular only where the quorum of two thirds of the members is available. The maximum period for which a meeting can be put off for lack of quorum is three days, after which the meeting can be held with the attendance of one third of the members.
The Council issues its resolutions by plurality of votes. Under the supervision of the Chairman, the Council forms a Secretariat General and appoint a Secretary General. The job of the Secretary General is to prepare the meetings' agenda and submit thereof to the Chairman, record the minutes of the meetings and the Council's recommendations and submit, to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, those parts of the recommendations that call for his or any higher authority's action.

The Council's Authorities:
The Central Municipal Council is an independent entity. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture has no authority over its functions. It is totally free to practice its responsibilities without any interference from the Ministry. The roles of the Ministry and the Council complement each other. The role of the Council is still one of advisory and monitoring. The Council has the right to discuss all matters and problems, and its agenda is not confined to what is raised by the Ministry. The Ministry approves the recommendations of the Council, whose members decide their own work program and budget without external interference.

Both the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture and the Central Municipal Council coordinate their efforts to reach the common goal of serving the country and the citizens. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture explains the different points of view to the Council through a specialized committee. In case the difference in opinion persists, subjects of discord, accompanied by the two different viewpoints, are raised to the Council of Ministers for consideration.

The 29 members of the Council focus their attention on providing the compelling needs of the society and securing the basic services with a view to rationalize spending. They do that through a well-defined plan and good coordination of time, effort and resources, and through giving priority to projects like road building, sanitary drainage, parks and recreation sites.

The Second Municipal Council Elections
The Ministry of Interior announced yesterday, the 7th of April 2003, the final results of the elections of the second Central Municipal Council in which 25 members out of 88 candidates won and 4 members including a woman were elected unopposed. Nearly 40% of the total voters of 21024 exercised their franchise.

The Third Municipal Council Elections
The third session of the central municipal council elections were held on April 1, 2007 with the participation of 51.1%, of the electorate. 13,656 out of 28,153 eligible voters cast their ballots in 27 constituencies to choose 27 members from 116 candidates.

One lady was elected in her Old Airport constituency with the highest amount of votes of all candidates; and two won unchallenged.