An article in the Qatari Shura Council elections law, related to who has the right to run for candidacy and membership, has sparked an internal debate on social media, especially for those who do not meet the conditions.

This debate centered mainly on the requirement that a candidate's original nationality be Qatari.

For its part, the Ministry of Interior announced that the competent authorities in the ministry had referred 7 unnamed persons to the Public Prosecution after using social media to spread incorrect news and incited racial and tribal strife, according to a statement by the ministry.

This comes at a time when Qatari citizens are registered in the voter registration rolls in order to choose who will represent them.

Hashtags such as "#One People", "Our Walina Tamim", "Shura Council elections", "#Qatar rises up" and "#Murrah_is_Qatar_before_the_government" topped the communication sites.

Abdullah Al-Athba, Director-General of the Qatar Press Center, said, "It is the right of any citizen to address His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, the Emir of the country, to express his opinion on a law and to criticize any article he deems necessary to reform. The elected Shura Council, and we do not allow anyone to insult the Emir, from any person from any family or tribe.”

It is the right of any citizen to address His Highness Sheikh # Tamim_bin_Hamad, the Emir of the country, to express his opinion on a law and to criticize any article he deems necessary to reform. From any person of any family or tribe

- Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Athbah (@A_AlAthbah) August 10, 2021

Saad bin Al-Adaam Al-Marri tweeted, "My uncle, al-Murra, if Qatar is hostile to us, and the ambassador, the minister, the leaders of the armies, the attorney general, the chief of human rights and the chief executives of the institutions, stop and do not leave the enemy on us. These laws do not detract from our citizenship. Our money is a homeland other than Qatar. Grave".

One of the tweeters wrote, "The trivial hashtag #Qatar_rises and continues to trend in the Gulf because two countries in the Gulf took advantage of a problem between Qataris on the issue of elections, and our peoples, see the elections are problems and what is good for us, and the elections are not completed."

Emirati accounts known for their tendencies have devoted their tweets to the Qatari hashtags, and the Emirati Hamad Al-Mazrouei - who is known for his closeness to decision-makers in Abu Dhabi - has published several tweets accusing Qatar of violating the rights of its citizens.

Emirati academic Abdul Khaleq Abdullah said, "Resentment in Qatar at the exclusion of social segments from participating in the Shura Council elections, which gave the right to run for candidates of Qatari nationality. Seven people were referred to the prosecution on charges of inciting racial and tribal strife. And Hazza Al-Athba Al-Marri warns of the consequences of the election law."

A tweeter called Bukhaled al-Kubaisi replied, "The UAE will take advantage of the opportunity to sow discord and disperse the ranks."

As the Qatari broadcaster and media figure Mohammed Al-Marri said, "A message to all those who are stalking us from the neighboring countries, Qatar and its people are far from your hands and your malicious intentions, and a message to our people in Qatar: We are all one people and there are no bids for our love for our homeland and our Emir, may God protect him."

Qatari singer Hamad Lahdan Al-Muhannadi responded, "To the stalkers and envious people from outside Qatar, whom we saw yesterday trying to inflame matters through the media, we inform you that we are in Qatar one people and one family, and whatever happens, we remain united and cohesive under the banner of Tamim bin Hamad."

To the stalkers and envious people from outside Qatar, whom we saw yesterday trying to inflame matters through the media, we inform you that we in Qatar are one people and one family, and whatever happens, we must unite and unite under the banner of Tamim bin Hamad.

— Hamad Lahdan Al Mohannadi (@hamadlahdan) August 10, 2021

At the end of last month, the Emir of the country ratified an electoral law regulating the first legislative elections in Qatar. The law stipulates defining the electoral districts of the Shura Council and the regions of each of them so that one member is elected for each district.

Voting will be held to select two-thirds of the members of the Shura Council, which consists of 45 seats, and the first elections of their kind are scheduled for next October.