Qataris votes to end limited polls for legislative seats in shadow of US election

Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar has voted to end its limited elections for legislative seats. Results released early Wednesday showed the measure passing to end the country’s short-lived experiment in electing members of the advisory Shura Council. Qatar’s Interior Ministry says 89% of voters backed the constitutional amendment in a yes-no ballot, with 9.2% voting no and 1.8% of votes being declared invalid. It offered no immediate vote count total in the autocratic nation. Voting took place as the world’s attention focused on the U.S. presidential election, with even Qatar’s state-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera offering brief acknowledgments of the vote. It was only Sunday that authorities announced the date of the poll, first called for in October by the country’s ruling emir.