Qatar votes in a referendum Tuesday on a proposed constitution that would make the Gulf Arab state more democratic.
The draft constitution, in the making since 1998 by legal experts and government officials, would create a parliament in which a majority of seats would be popularly elected. It would also guarantee basic rights of expression, assembly, religion and property ownership in Qatar, a peninsula bordering Saudi Arabia and rich in oil and gas.

The Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, called in a televised speech Monday for wide participation in the polls.

"The Arab nation would not be in its current state if it had popular participation, constitutional institutions, democracy and political and social justice. It would instead play its natural and effective role in the global community," he said.

Qatar has taken steps toward political liberalization in recent years, including the creation of an elected municipal body for the capital Doha that has consultative but no legislative powers.

The proposed constitution, based on Islamic law but not limited to it, would create a parliament with 45 legislators, of whom 30 would be elected and 15 would be selected by the Emir.

Parliament could propose laws and pass them, but the Emir would have final say on whether legislation went into effect.

"It is going to be a legislative body with a lot of teeth -- not all the teeth, but a lot of teeth," Qatar's ambassador to Britain, Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa, told Reuters in a recent interview.

The constitution "takes into consideration the country's history, its values et cetera, but it is like any other constitution -- there's a lot of rights, a lot of obligations," he said.

One of those rights would be the right of women, to serve in the parliament.

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The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, called in a televised speech Monday for wide participation in the polls.