Qatar's ruling emir said Tuesday his small, energy-rich nation will hold a referendum on ending a short-lived experiment in electing members of the country's advisory Shura Council. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani offered no immediate timeline for the referendum in an annual address to the Shura Council,

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.