Qatar passes referendum, replaces Shura Council elections with appointments, interior minister says

FILE PHOTO: Members attend the session of the advisory Shura Council for which partial elections were held for the first time, in Doha, Qatar, October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Ibraheem Al Omari/File Photo

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's referendum on a set of constitutional amendments passed with a 90.6% approval of the valid votes, replacing legislative elections for the Shura Council with appointed roles, the Gulf Arab state's interior minister said early on Wednesday.

Qatar held its first ever elections in 2021 to choose two-thirds of the members of the advisory Shura Council. The elections sparked rare tribal tensions in Qatar after some members of a main Bedouin tribe found themselves ineligible to vote in the poll.