No ceiling on number of voters for FNC elections

 Abu Dhabi: A top official on Saturday said there was no limit in the law to the number of people who can vote in the September elections for the Federal National Council (FNC).

Half of the 40-member council will be elected by an Electoral College, which is to be at least 300 times the number of its representatives. The 20 remaining legislators will be appointed by the Rulers of the emirates.

Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, State Minister for FNC Affairs, reiterated on Saturday only the minimum number of citizens who will be given the franchise was set in Shaikh Khalifa's decree, but no preset maximum was mentioned.

Stressing that the percentages stated in media reports of some news agencies on the electoral system in the UAE were incorrect and do not reflect the development of the electoral process, Dr Gargash said in a statement to Emirates News Agency (WAM), "This process is based on phases, where each phase boosts another and builds on it."

Gargash underlined that the UAE President's decree specifies the minimum limit, while the maximum limit is left open, hence it depends on the size of the Electoral Colleges, which will be received by the National Electoral Commission from the emirates.

Speaking to Gulf News, members of the last FNC called for voting rights to be extended to growing numbers of Emiratis as no preset maximum is given for the number of citizens who will be granted the political franchise in the council's polls to be held on September 24.

Empowerment

Ahmad Bin Shabib Al Daheri, former First Deputy Speaker of the FNC, told Gulf News the political empowerment launched by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2005 provided for expanding the role of the FNC to enrich our parliamentary experiment, through elections, more powers for the House and increasing the number of its members.

Bin Shabib expressed the hope that the Rulers of the Emirates "will extend the political franchise to the largest possible section of citizens in this year's polls, so that in a short period of time the majority of the population in each emirate will be eligible to vote and run for elections".

Dr Gargash told WAM: "The UAE reform programme is a series of steps that reflect and express the political programme whose ultimate aim is to boost the political participation in the country." He added that the UAE, since the launch of this programme in 2005, has committed itself to developing the political programme that suits the UAE, boosts its experience and bolsters participation through the outlined programme.

Ali Majid Al Matroushi, a former representative from Ajman, said the political franchise should be extended to all eligible citizens in keeping with the Presidential Decree.

Ali Jasem, a former representative from Umm Al Quwain, agreed and appealed to the Rulers of the Emirates to grant the franchise to as many as they can since no preset maximum was mentioned in the Presidential Decree.

‘Political process'

"All Emiratis should take part in the decision-making through the political process. In future, I hope elections will be held to elect municipal council members as was the case in chambers of commerce and industry."

Maysa Rashid Gadeer, a former representative from Dubai, said extending the political franchise to growing numbers of citizens will boost political participation.

But Maysa, who was the first woman to register to run for the FNC elections in 2006, said she did not support universal suffrage for the time being.

"The gradual approach suits the UAE best and we are not in a hurry to go for general elections," Maysa said.

Ahmad Al Khatiri, a former member from Ras Al Kahimah, said: "Our goal is full political participation, but we will achieve this goal gradually".

Mohammad Abdullah Al Za'abi, a former representative from Sharjah, said, "All emirates have to agree on principles for extending political franchise to citizens and that these principles must be binding to all emirates, so that all Emiratis enjoy equal voting and candidacy rights."

Dr Sultan Al Moaden, a former representative from Fujairah, said that "voting and candidacy rights should be extended to up to 5,000 people in Fujairah, because it is not logical that 15,000 or 20,000 people would contend for two seats in the FNC."