NHRC calls on citizens to play their part in CMC poll process

HE the Deputy Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Dr Mohamed bin Saif al-Kuwari called on citizens to play their role in the electoral process of the 7th Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections 2023, noting that the Qatari legislation and international covenants recognized that the right to vote and to stand for election is a right for every citizen, male and female, without discrimination to participate in managing the public affairs of the State.
Al-Kuwari pointed out the importance of the participation of Qatari women to emphasize the importance of their role in society and guarantee women's rights in practice, in addition to the necessity of youth participation as the makers of the future.
This came during the second meeting held by the NHRC's Visits and Monitoring Committee, headed by him to review the monitoring of the 7th Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections, to ensure free and fair elections that conform to national and international human rights standards.
The challenges that faced the members and employees of NHRC during monitoring the previous elections were discussed, as well as studying holding two seminars, the first of which targets youth and women, while the second one targets candidates of the 7th Central Municipal Council, while the Visits and Monitoring Committee reviewed the report of the 2019 Municipal Elections Monitoring Committee.
Al-Kuwari said that the permanent committee for visits and monitoring, whose membership includes a group of members and employees of the NHRC, will participate in monitoring the elections, noting that this participation comes in implementation of the Qatari constitution and regional and international human rights conventions, in addition to the implementation of Decree-Law No 17 of 2010 organizing the National Human Rights Committee, in which Article 2, Item 3 provides that "monitoring what is raised about the human rights situation in the country, and coordinating with the concerned authorities to respond to it.
The deputy chairman of NHRC added that the members of the Visits and Monitoring Committee will have their role in conducting field visits to electoral headquarters to monitor the conditions of the rights of candidates and voters in order to enhance the responsibility of the concerned authorities in protecting human rights and freedoms by monitoring and recording human rights conditions and the challenges that may arise in this regard.
Al-Kuwari explained that the participation of the NHRC in the elections aims to monitor the extent to which international standards and procedures for elections are applied and related to human rights in candidacy and election, in line with the declared goals of Qatar in the determination to move forward on the path of democracy in a gradual and careful manner that stems from the specificity of the Qatari society and in a manner that guarantees this experience the ingredients for success in the path of achieving comprehensive democracy.
Al-Kuwari stated that the NHRC's proactive participation in the polling process will be represented in the awareness and education aspect of human rights and freedoms and the consolidation of principles at the levels of thought and practice through lectures and seminars on the monitoring standards required to monitor elections in accordance with the Qatari constitution and human rights charters.
In this context, he explained that the lectures and seminars will include a training aspect for the NHRC team to monitor the elections, in addition to awareness and education that will target young male and female students who are eligible to vote alongside the candidates themselves.
Al-Kuwari said that through the electoral process, we hope to move forward on the same approach in which the previous Central Municipal Council session took place, with more professionalism. The committee team noticed, while observing and monitoring the previous electoral process, that sufficient electoral committees were designed to accommodate all voters in each electoral district and the headquarters of the electoral commissions are free of any propaganda materials, which conforms to national, regional and international standards, in addition to facilitating the voting process for the elderly and allowing the NHRC observers to freely monitor the voting process within the electoral commissions.
He explained that there was no pressure on the voters when choosing to put marks in the ballot papers, in addition to providing a suitable place to put the marks in the ballot papers confidentially.
He pointed out that the ballot boxes were organized, courteous and visible to all, the voting process took place inside the electoral district headquarters in a proper and orderly manner, as those in charge of the voting process have taken into consideration allocating a place within the committee that allows for the secrecy of the voting process, in addition to providing the election papers and the transparent election boxes, which were visible to the observers and all those present at the headquarters of the Electoral Commission, in addition to providing clear lists of voters for all, preparing and verifying election cards before voting, and ensuring that the election card is stamped before the voter casts his vote.