Four women among 110 candidates for CMC elections

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) released Sunday the final list of candidates for the seventh Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections, announcing 110 candidates, including four women.The candidates will contest from 29 seats in as many constituencies located around the country.Constituency 11 (Abu Hamour) tops the electoral districts in terms of the number of candidates with 11 nominees, while constituency 27 (Al Kaaban) has the least with only one candidate.The electoral campaign kicked off later Sunday, according to the timetable for the CMC elections scheduled for June 22.According to the timetable of the CMC elections, the campaign is to start from the day of announcing the final list of candidates (June 11) and will last until the stage of "election silence" that precedes the polling day.Meanwhile, the MoI Sunday called on all candidates for the CMC polls to submit a licence request for electoral campaigning, through the form prepared for this purpose, at the ministry's building.This came in a statement by the Ministry of Interior, which included information about the electoral campaign's licensing procedures, which started Sunday, as well as the withdrawal of candidacy and authorisation, in the context of preparations for the election of members of the seventh session of the council.Regarding withdrawal of candidacy, the statement noted that a candidate wishing to withdraw his/her candidacy must fill in the form prepared for this purpose and submit it to the Elections Department for approval by the chairman of the Elections Committee.Regarding authorisation, the statement directed the candidates wishing to authorise one of the voters on their behalf to enter the election hall and submit a request for authorisation through the form prepared for this purpose to the Elections Department, accompanied by a photograph of the representative.The representative must be among the voters registered in the same constituency as the candidate, the MoI said.The deadline for submitting withdrawal of candidacy and authorisation requests is Tuesday.Meanwhile, HE the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee Maryam bint Abdullah al-Attiyah stressed that the large number of Qatari citizens registered on the electoral list reflects their true and free will in choosing who they want to represent them in the seventh session of the CMC.In a statement Sunday, she said the upcoming CMC elections are not only important for the development and completion of infrastructure, but also provide an opportunity for everyone's voices to be heard and to shape the future of Qatar's society.Participation in these elections is an integral part of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and ensures that individuals have an opinion in their own society, she noted.