The Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has expressed Qatar's desire to prevent tensions between families and tribes that were ignited by the electoral process.

Qatar is set to conduct a rare referendum for its citizens to vote on a series of constitutional amendments, including a proposal to halt efforts to introduce elections, as announced by the Gulf Arab state's Amir on Tuesday.

In 2021, Qatar held its inaugural elections to select two-thirds of the members of the advisory Shura Council. These elections led to unusual tribal tensions when some members of the main Bedouin tribe discovered they were ineligible to vote.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani referred to these elections as "an experiment" that was subsequently reviewed, prompting the government to propose the constitutional amendments. "The Shura Council is not a representative parliament in a democratic system, and its status and powers will remain unaffected whether its members are elected or appointed," Sheikh Tamim stated in his annual address to open the council's session.

The council will examine the draft amendments and present them to a referendum, according to Sheikh Tamim. The results of the referendum will be binding, a Qatari official informed Reuters.

Qatar's first legislative election, approved in a 2003 constitutional referendum, only materialized in 2021. Members of the Al Murrah tribe, one of the Gulf's largest Bedouin groups with roots in eastern Saudi Arabia, protested the electoral law that disqualified Qataris whose families were not present in Qatar before 1930 from voting.

Sheikh Tamim reiterated on Tuesday that Qatar aims to avoid the tensions between families and tribes that the electoral process had stirred.

The Shura Council holds legislative authority and approves general state policies and the budget, but it has no influence over the setting of defence, security, economic, and investment policies for the small yet affluent gas producer, which prohibits political parties. In his Tuesday speech, Sheikh Tamim also accused Israel of deliberately expanding its "aggression" to execute pre-planned schemes in the West Bank and Lebanon, stating that Israel perceives the opportunity for such actions as available.

Qatar, alongside Egypt and the US, has been attempting to mediate a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.