SHARJAH, 21 December 2006 — The curtain went down yesterday on the historic Federal National Council (FNC) elections in the United Arab Emirates. Three Emirates went to the ballots to choose seven representatives to the FNC, in the third and final phase of the elections.
The UAE voted through an electoral college for the first time in its history to choose members for the FNC. The elections were the first step toward a wider participation of the public in the political process.
Emiratis were expecting a woman to win one of the seats in the Emirate of Sharjah as the percentage of women contestants was high. The winners in Sharjah were Obaid Butti Al-Muhairi, Khalifa ibn Huwaidin and Hamad Al-Madfa.
A total of 436 voters in Ajman chose two representatives from a field of 24 candidates, Hamad Al-Ghafli and Khaled Abu Shehab. Voter turnout in Sharjah was 82 percent while in Ajman it was 85 percent.
In Umm Al-Quwain, voters numbering 403 chose from among 26 candidates, including just one woman, two seats. The winners were Sultan Al-Kubaisi and Yusuf ibn Fadhel.
A woman was elected to the FNC in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi on Saturday, making the UAE the first country in the Gulf region where a woman has won a mandate right from the first national vote.
The 20 election winners will fill half the seats in the prestigious 40-member FNC. The rulers of the seven emirates will now appoint the remaining 20 members.
The Federal National Council is the UAE’s advisory council, formed under the Provisional Constitution of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 as a permanent component of the country’s governing structure, which also includes the Supreme Council, president, Cabinet and judiciary. The FNC is also seen as a forum where members are able to question ministers. Members often grill Cabinet members over issues of concern during debates. Throughout its history, most of the amendments made by FNC have become laws.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anwar Muhammad Gargash, minister of state for FNC affairs and chairman of the National Elections Committee, said the committee had not received any appeals during the first and second rounds of elections held in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Dubai and Ras Al-Khaimah.
Dr. Gargash, who made the remarks during a visit to the Sharjah polling center, praised the cooperation and commitment shown by both candidates and voters.
“We look forward to strengthen the parliamentary experiment to go hand in hand with the achievements made by the UAE in all fields,” Dr. Gargash added. He pointed out that the current gradual parliamentary approach would contribute to the building of a matured and full-fledged parliamentary process in the UAE.
