UAE: Hand-picked voters cast ballots in UAE's first elections

Hand-picked voters cast ballots in the United Arab Emirates' first elections on Saturday to choose half the members of an advisory assembly for the Gulf Arab nation. Rulers of the seven emirates in the UAE federation have selected 6,689 voters, just under one percent of the 800,000-strong native population, to select 20 members of the Federal National Council (FNC) from 439 men and woman, while the rest of the representatives will be appointed. All nationals of the 35-year-old UAE federation will be allowed to vote in 2010, but political parties are widely expected to remain banned in the traditionalist country. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said in remarks published on Saturday the FNC would be a "true representative of the people". The UAE, a big oil exporter, plans to expand both the size of the FNC and its powers. The FNC has no legislative powers. Dhaheri, an appointed member of the previous FNC, was the first to cast a ballot in an Abu Dhabi stadium decorated with pictures of 99 candidates vying for Abu Dhabi's four seats. A steady flow of voters were choosing their preferred candidates by touching a computer screen in the e-vote before casting computer-generated red ballots in boxes as a backup. "From the morning I was excited to be here to vote and I was surprised to be the first person to come and to have had this opportunity was just pure luck," Dhaheri, a voter, said. Polls also began in Fujairah where 35 candidates are contesting two seats, while voters in the five other emirates, including the booming regional trade hub Dubai, will cast their ballots on Monday and Wednesday. About 14 percent of the candidates are women, but there is no quota ensuring a minimum number of women reach the FNC. Election officials say women will be appointed to the advisory body, even if they fail to win any seats through the vote. "In my opinion with regards to these election trials in Arab and Gulf countries I think there should be a quota of specific seats for women candidates from the beginning. Later on society will see female candidates and how they work and in the future there will hopefully be more seats for women," said Fatma Hamad al-Mazrooei, an assistant professor. There are already two female cabinet ministers in the UAE, the only Gulf Arab state with no elected political body. Its Arab neighbours, though still ruled by dynasties, have all had polls of some kind. Kuwait, the only Gulf Arab state with a parliament that has a say in state affairs, allowed women to run in parliamentary elections for the first time in June. Diplomats and analysts say affluence from high oil income has helped the government steer the country without turbulence. Bahrain revived its parliament in 2002 after years of demonstrations and unrest but created an appointed body that shares the house's legislative rights.

ITN Source | December 18, 2006

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