DUBAI, 30 July 2021, (TON): Qatar's emir approved laws for the Gulf Arab state's first legislative election in October, when Qataris will elect two-thirds of the advisory Shura Council.

The election, plans for which were first approved in a 2003 constitutional referendum, is being held before the capital Doha hosting the World Cup soccer tournament next year.

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will continue to appoint 15 members of the 45-seat Shura Council which, according to one of the new laws, will have legislative authority and approve general state policies and the budget.

It will also exercise control over the executive, except for bodies setting defence, security, economic and investment policy.

Like other Gulf states, Qatar bans political parties although it already holds municipal polls.

It has sought to burnish its image, including by improving migrant workers' rights, following allegations of labour abuse and a boycott imposed by fellow Arab states in 2017. Saudi Arabia and its allies in January agreed to end the row.

The electoral law approved states that citizens aged 18 and over, and whose grandfather was born in Qatar, can vote in districts in which their tribe or family reside. Thirty electoral districts will each choose one representative.

Candidates must be of Qatari origin and at least 30 years old. The law caps campaign spending at 2 million riyals ($550,000). Foreign funding is criminalised with a jail term of up to five years and a fine of up to 10 million riyals.