Emiratis flock to polling stations on election day

Voting for Federal National Council representatives was held in 39 polling centres across the country.

The voting process began at 8am and ends at 8pm when voting centres shut down, the votes counted, and the preliminary list of winners of the FNC 2019 elections announced.

Furthermore, and in line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, female representation at the FNC will be raised to 50 percent. 

Since the start of the voting process - including early voting - a high turnout of voters were recorded at polling centres, reflecting the awareness of citizens on the importance of their political participation and parliamentary work in the UAE. This was also demonstrated in the overwhelming interaction shown by various community members, including women, the youth, and People of Determination.

The National Election Commission said it will preserve the accuracy, transparency and integrity of the electoral process, while ensuring a smooth voting process on election day.

Voters started streaming towards ultra-modern voting centres in the UAE on Saturday, October 5, 2019 to elect their next representatives to the Federal National Council (FNC). Noura Bint Mohammad Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, confirmed the extension of an hour until 9pm at the ADNEC.

Emirati voters started casting their ballots as polling booths opened across the country for the FNC elections, the fourth in the nation’s history.

In Abu Dhabi, the number of voters making their way to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre has been growing steadily on Saturday morning.

While just as many women as men have come in, the sight of families, with parents coming in with young toddlers in tow, has been a heartwarming sight.

About 337,738 Emiratis are eligible to vote on October 5 in the FNC elections to elect the 40-member house. The 40-member FNC is composed of eight members from Abu Dhabi and Dubai; six from Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah; and four from Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah. Twenty members will now be elected by the 337,738 members of the Electoral College. The other 20 will be nominated by their respective emirates.

A fair number of voters of determination have also been making their presence felt on Election Day. Greeted by the welcoming committee, they have headed to the booths to cast their ballots.

The FNC is the UAE’s advisory council.

It was formed under the UAE Provisional Constitution in 1971 as a permanent component of the country’s governing structure, which also includes the Supreme Council, President, Cabinet and Judiciary.

Earlier, 1,842 Emiratis voted in polling stations around the world as part of overseas voting, conducted ahead of today's elections.

There are 479 candidates listed for Saturday's Federal National Council elections in the UAE.

The UAE's National Election Committe (NEC) explained the voters can cast their votes at their nearest polling station, regardless of which emirate it is located, and added that they must produce their identity cards.

Each voter only has one vote during the same election cycle and can choose only one candidate.

The first session of the FNC was inaugurated by the late President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan on February 13, 1972.

Saturday's voting procedures have been hailed by voters, who say the procedure to cast a ballot takes less than two minutes. In addition, only an Emirates ID is needed for identification purposes, just as in the previous FNC elections in 2015, and the NEC is even accepting expired IDs.