Qatar’s only elected government body has pushed back the date of its opening session following the summer break because many members remain on vacation, Al Sharq reports.

The Central Municipal Council will now convene on Sept. 17 instead of Sept. 10, the newspaper states.

It added that the CMC must hold a meeting in the first week of September following summer break, but according to Hukoomi, the 29-member council is only required to convene every two weeks, by a quorum of two-thirds.

Regarding the new agenda, the Peninsula translates:

The September 10 meet of the CMC was scheduled to discuss the response of the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning to the various recommendations that the House forwarded to him on various issues of public importance in the recent past.

Qatari citizens have had four chances to vote on CMC members since 1999, when the former Emir decreed that direct elections were needed.

But voter turnout during the most recent election in 2011 was lackadaisical at best and the number of people running for these positions has fallen dramatically since 1999.

That may be because, according to the CMC’s website, “the role of the Council is still one of advisory and monitoring.”

Meanwhile, Qatar’s first legislative elections, which were expected to take place over the summer, have been postponed again until at least 2016, when the Advisory Council’s term is set to expire.

The decision to renew the Council’s term was one of the last official decrees issued by the former Emir before he handed power over to his son in June.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Juanedc