Qatar is to hold a referendum on 29 April to approve a draft constitution, the government announced on 15 April. A spokesman for the drafting committee, Mohammed Jahhan al-Kawari, told AFP that the constitution, the country's first, envisaged the establishment of a 45-strong Shura (consultative council), of which two-thirds would be elected and the remainder appointed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Last July, head of the drafting committee, Abdullah bin Saleh al-Khalafi, said that the council would be elected on a four-year basis and would have the power to legislate, to approve the budget, and to question ministers. The emir would retain the power to dissolve the body. Women would be given the right both to vote and to hold office.