Qataris decide whether to end limited voting for legislative seats in shadow of US election

Qatar opened a snap poll Tuesday to decide whether to end its limited voting for legislative seats, a measure likely to pass and end its short-lived experiment in electing members of the country's advisory Shura Council.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

Voting began as the world's attention focused on the U.S. presidential election, with even Qatar's state-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera offering brief acknowledgments of the vote wedged between coverage of the U.S. and the Mideast wars. Though Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, announced last month a vote would take place, it was only Sunday that authorities announced the date of the poll. Voting will run until 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) and results are expected on Wednesday.