Earlier this month, the number of Emiratis eligible to vote in a September election for the Federal National Council (FNC) was raised more than ten-fold from fewer than 7,000 to 80,000 — less than a tenth of the state’s estimated 1 million citizens.

“The next step might be to have 150,000 voters, and then after that everyone,” Minister of State Anwar Mohammed Gargash was quoted as saying by the Gulf News newspaper, adding there would be no changes before the poll.

Analysts say the FNC is largely an advisory council with little power of its own.

Turmoil in the Arab world had prompted the UAE to consider the move, Gargash said.

“Political events in the Arab world showed that political participation might surge ahead suddenly, which calls for a plan to safeguard our country’s security and social and political stability,” Gargash said.

In March, a group of UAE intellectuals collected 160 signatures on a petition calling for free and democratic elections in a sign the country is not insulated from regional political currents.

One of the activists who signed the petition is now on trial along with four others charged with “insulting the president, vice president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi” and committing “acts that threaten state security and public order.”

The 40-member FNC held its first election in 2006 when about 6,500 people, less than one percent of the UAE’s citizens, elected half of its members. The rest were appointed.

The pool of electors is handpicked by the rulers of the seven emirates and can either run for office themselves or vote for others. The electors choose half the FNC’s members while the remainder are directly appointed by the rulers.