RAS AL-KHAIMAH, 4 November 2006 — The National Election Committee (NEC) organized a seminar in Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK) on Thursday to educate members of the electoral college (EC) on the election process in the run-up to the country’s first elections that will take place in December.
The seminar, hosted jointly by the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) and the NEC, comes as part of a series of road shows dedicated to boost interaction between members of the electoral college and society at large, and increase awareness of the country’s first elections to the Federal National Council.
The seminar was attended by Secretary-General of FNC Affairs Ministry Tariq Hilal Lootah, who is also member of the NEC and head of the Election Management Committee; Dr. Saeed Al-Ghafli, who assistant secretary-general of the FNC Affairs Ministry and Emirates sub-committee coordinator; and a huge number of EC members from RAK.
Dr. Al-Ghafli gave an overview of the election process and its different stages in the first phase. Lootah and Al-Ghafli answered queries from EC members and took note of a number of suggestions regarding the election process.
“The upcoming FNC elections are a natural progression following the UAE’s success in social, economic and cultural field. This election is the first phase of the three-step process as outlined by the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan and will gradually usher in people’s participation to activate and empower the FNC as an effective body reflecting the needs and aspirations of the citizens,” said Lootah.
He added that the seminars are part of a gradual process to create an electoral culture in the UAE, “The objective of the upcoming seminars is to train and introduce the EC members to the election process, and by partnering with the HCT we are able to directly reach our youth and ensure that our campaign covers the country.”
