Doha: Three women have so far filed papers to run in Qatar's fourth Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections, the interior ministry has said.

"We have received 66 applications, including three were submitted by women," the ministry said. "The candidates have signed up in the 29 constituencies."

In the first elections held in March 1999, six the 227 candidates were women, but none won. However, in the second elections in April 2003, the only woman who ran, Shaikha Al Jufairi, made history by winning in her constituency. In the third elections, in 2007, only three women ran.

Qataris intent on running in the 2011 elections will have to fill in their applications by March 10.

"Candidates who meet the conditions for contesting the CMC elections should visit their constituency headquarters to fill in the prescribed form in the presence of the election committee," the interior ministry said in a statement.

Following the deadline, the first list of candidates will be prepared and announced on March 15 and applications to the Appeals and Grievances Committee will be accepted from March 15 to March 23.

Sultan Mubarak Al Khulaifi, member of Seventh Constituency Committee said that the constituency committees were tasked with checking the identity of the applicant and judging whether he/she fulfils the conditions to contest the CMC elections.

"A candidate must be a Qatari citizen of Qatari origin or one who has obtained Qatari citizenship provided that he is a descendant of a person born in Qatar. He must be at least 30 years old and literate and should not have been convicted of a crime related to moral depravity or dishonesty," Al Khulaifi said, quoted by Qatar News Agency (QNA).

The candidate must not be a member of Qatar Police or Qatar Armed Forces or of any other military service, he said.