ABU DHABI, 24 November 2006 — Some 456 candidates have registered for the Federal National Council elections, according to a primary list unveiled by the National Election Committee.
Electoral colleges comprising 6,689 citizens will pick half of the 40 FNC members on Dec. 16, 18 and 20 in the UAE’s first such elections.
The primary list includes a significant number of women candidates, a trend that highlights the interest of UAE women to participate in politics and support the development of the country. The number of candidates from each emirate is: Abu Dhabi —100, Dubai — 82, Sharjah — 101, Ras Al Khaimah — 83, Ajman — 24, Umm Al Quwain — 29, and Fujairah — 37.
The number of women in the list across the emirates are: Abu Dhabi —14, Dubai —15, Sharjah — 29, Ras Al Khaimah — 3, Ajman — 2, Umm Al Quwain 1 and Fujairah 1.
The NEC has urged the candidates to abide by the time-line and the executive directives that have been announced for launching the election campaigns.
Meanwhile, the veteran police chief of Dubai has decided not to run in indirect elections to an advisory council in protest at being asked for a good conduct certificate.
Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim said it was unthinkable that he should have to produce such a certificate after serving the UAE for 37 years — 26 of them as police chief. “If those long years of service cannot exempt me from having to produce a certificate of good conduct, I prefer to withdraw my candidacy,” Al-Ittihad quoted him as saying.
“We do not tailor elections to personal specifications. We are (laying the foundation for) a clear institutional experiment,” National Election Committee chief Anwar Gargash, state minister for FNC affairs, told Al-Ittihad after Tamim’s withdrawal.
