(MENAFN- The Peninsula) For 12 long years, Sheikha Al Jefairi has been the only female face of the Central Municipal Council (CMC), Qatar's only elected body.
In the recent election to the fifth term of the CMC, however, another woman has won, while Al Jefairi has retained her seat-for the fourth time in a row since 2003.
In a brief interview, Al Jefairi told this newspaper yesterday that she was hopeful of Fatima Al Kuwari winning this time.
"Somehow I was expecting that she would win and she did," Al Jefairi said of Al Kuwari, who won from Constituency 9 (Al Thumama and Mesaimeer). "It will be so nice to have another woman in the House," said Al Jefairi. Interestingly, Al Kuwari was her challenger in the last CMC election from her bastion Old Airport ward in 2011, but she defeated her (Al Kuwari).
This time, Al Jefairi had all male challengers but she won comfortably again due to her reputation as a go-getter, with a margin of over 500 votes, as she polled 852 votes while her nearest rival bagged only 295 votes. Al Jefairi's win, though, is not without challenges since her constituency has been re-demarcated and now includes three working class expatriate-dominated neighborhoods of Najma, Al Mansoura and Umm Ghuwailina as also Old Ghanem, which is one of the most expensive localities of Doha as it has most hotels and tourist attractions such as the Museum of Islamic Art and the picturesque Corniche.
Asked about the new areas in her constituency now, she said she will be getting the files of these neighbourhoods only when the fifth term of the CMC is inaugurated-hopefully, sometime in early July.
One new area in her re-demarcated constituency-Al Nuaija-has no school and kindergarten, she said. "I will have to work to get these facilities."
The term of the present CMC (the fourth term which began in 2011) ends on June 27, she said. An Emiri decree is to be issued for the fifth term of the CMC to begin.
The last time the time difference between the end of the previous CMC (third term) and the start of the present term (fourth term of the CMC) was a week, recalls Al Jefairi who is a legal professional.
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