Disappointment in Qatar as no women candidates elected
Women voters voiced disappointment yesterday after none were elected in Qatar's first legislative polls with all eyes on whether the emir will use his powers to appoint 15 lawmakers to boost representation. Thirty men were elected to Qatar's Shura Council at Saturday's polls despite more than two dozen women standing for the body which is seen as a nod to democracy rather than a fully-fledged parliament. As well as counting no women amongst their number, the 30 victorious candidates were older men mostly from prominent families, many of whom had backgrounds in business or government. If as expected by many analysts the emir does directly appoint women to improve the gender balance it would follow what happened in Bahrain's legislative election. Official sources had confirmed to AFP this was a likely outcome in the event no women succeeded at the ballot box in Qatar.
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