The Word “Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning” shall be replaced with “Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture” and the word

“Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning” shall be replaced with “Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture” as stated in Article 1 of Law No. 12 of 1998.

The texts of Articles 2, 3, 4(clause 1), 5, 6, 8 (final clause), 9, 13, 17, 22, 25 and 28 of Law No. 12 of 1998 shall be replaced with the following texts:
Article 2
The Central Municipal Council shall have a juristic personality and a budget attached to the general budget of the State;
The Council shall hold directly the competences stated in Article 8 of this Law;
The Council shall have a Secretariat-General together with a sufficient number of staff to assist the Council to perform its work;
The headquarters of the Council shall be in the city of Doha.
Article 3
The Council must comprise twenty-nine members representing cities, villages and various areas, and must be directly elected according to a system issued in accordance with legislation.

Article 4
Legislation specifically issued for the election system shall determine the conditions to be met by the voter and shall determine the nomination and election procedures.

Article 5
The member nominated for the Council shall:

1. Be a Qatari national and for any member who has acquired Qatari nationality, his father shall have been born in Qatar;
2. Have reached the age of thirty years;
3. Be fluent in reading and writing;
4. Be of good character;
5. Not have been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude or dishonesty, unless he has been rehabilitated;
6. Be registered in the voters register in the department that nominates himself and have permanent residence within its borders;
7. Not be employed in the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of the Interior or any other military body.

Article 6
The term of the Council shall be four years commencing from the date of its first meeting and elections to form a new Council shall be conducted during the last four months of that period.
Article 8 (final clause)
The Council shall express its views in the form of recommendations and decisions.
Article 9
The Council shall issue bylaws following adoption by the Council of Ministers, on the submission of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture.
Article 13
The first meeting of the Council shall be held in accordance with a Decree within a period not exceeding three months from the date of announcement of the election of the Council’s members.
Except for the meeting of the first session, the duration of the session shall be ten months, starting from the first week in September of each year.
The first meeting of the Council shall be chaired by the most senior member, and during this meeting the Council shall elect a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson from among the members such appointments to endure for the entire term of the Council. The election shall be by secret ballot and by a majority vote of the members present.
In the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall act in his stead and hold and employ all the same powers as if he were Chairperson. In the event of the absence of both the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson, the oldest member of the Council shall hold these competences. If either post is vacant, or if both posts are vacant, the Council shall elect a replacement or replacements, in accordance with the terms stated in the preceding paragraph, until the end of the member ship term of such replacement or replacements.
Article 17
The Secretary-General of the Council shall represent the Council in his relations with other persons and bodies in technical, administrative and financial affairs.
Article 22
The Secretariat-General shall be headed by the Secretary-General who shall be appointed following a decision by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture on a proposal of the Council.
The Secretary-General, under the supervision of the Council, shall implement and follow up the recommendations and decisions of the Council; conduct the technical, administrative and financial affairs of the Council; and, in particular, undertake the following:

1. Receiving applications submitted by the members of the Council concerning the affairs of their departments and receiving requests for data, information and documents necessary to meet the requirements of the relevant bodies;
2. Supervising all administrative units of the Council;
3. Preparation of the annual draft budget of the Council;
4. Issuing decisions on matters relating to staff affairs of the Council.

Article 25
The Council shall submit its decisions and recommendations to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture for appropriate action to be taken. If the Minister deems these decisions or recommendations to be beyond the jurisdiction of the Council, including violating legislation or beyond the general policy of the State, he may object to them.
If the Council insists its decision or recommendation be acted upon, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture shall present the matter to the Council of Ministers to take what action such Council may deem fit.
Article 28
If any member fails to attend meetings of the Council or its committees for more than three consecutive meetings or six separate meetings in one session without offering an acceptable excuse, the Council shall give at least fifteen days’ notice to such member to be heard at a meeting convened to resolve the issue.
If the Council does not accept what is presented by the absenting member in their defence, or the member does not attend the meeting to which he has been called, the Council may issue a decision, with the consent of the majority of its members, considering the member to have resigned.

 

 

Article 19 of Law No. 12 of 1998 shall be rescinded.

Taking into account what is required by Article 2 of this Law, Decree No. 17 of 1998 shall be continue to have effect until such time as legislation regulating the election of members of the Councilshall be put in place.