DUBAI, 4 December 2005 — The UAE’s highest federal authority, the Supreme Council, yesterday endorsed a decision by UAE President Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan for elections to half the country’s advisory Federal National Council.
It would be the first such vote for Emiratis — who make up only 20 percent of the country’s 4 million residents — since the federation of seven semi-autonomous emirates was formed in 1971.
Under the decision, the government will soon propose constitutional amendments providing for elections to the 40-member FNC from larger councils created in the seven emirates.
Sheikh Khalifa said the election of half the members of the FNC “will be followed by several others ... and will be topped off by the holding of direct elections.”
He said he would propose to the new FNC that it amend the constitution to “reinforce the prerogatives of the council ... and increase its membership ... in a way that the council can adopt the necessary measures to permit the holding of direct elections.”
In an address marking the National Day of the federation and the 34th anniversary of the country’s independence, Sheikh Khalifa announced on Thursday that elections will be held to vote for half of the members of the FNC.
The UAE it is the only country without elected bodies in the Gulf region after Saudi Arabia held municipal elections earlier this year.
The official WAM news agency said yesterday the Supreme Council, which is made up of the rulers of the seven emirates, also approved the creation of a national security council but gave no details.
Meanwhile, UAE Defense Minister and Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed said signs of change and reform were beginning to appear in many Arab states, calling them “a chance for liberation from disappointment, frustration and despair.”
“It’s unacceptable to justify that failure (to bring reform) by lack of means or because of heavy foreign intervention,” he told a conference in Dubai. “That implies a recipe of inactivity, laziness and excessive incapacity. People cannot bear more. This explains the cases of anxiety, tension and congestions in some Arab societies.”
