UAE | Government
Women dominated FNC process
Women's participation in the Federal National Council election was high although only one female candidate was victorious, according to statistics released on Sunday.
- By Samir Salama, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:00 January 8, 2007
- Image Credit:
Abu Dhabi: Women's participation in the Federal National Council election was high although only one female candidate was victorious, according to statistics released on Sunday.
Although females dominated the voting process, the majority of votes were won by male candidates, according to the National Election Committee (NEC), which on Sunday announced a statistical breakdown of the landmark Federal National Council (FNC) elections held in December last year.
In Umm Al Quwain, all female voters in the Electoral College cast their votes but male candidates won more than 98 per cent of them.
In Abu Dhabi, the voter turnout was over 60 per cent with 44 per cent being female. Male candidates won 84 per cent of the votes.
Seventy-two voters (60 males and 12 females) voted in the first hour. Voting hit the highest point at 5pm with 135 voters (115 males and 20 females) and the lowest at 2pm with 49 voters (39 males and 10 females).
In Dubai, poll turnout was over 70 per cent with 69.47 per cent female participation. Male candidates secured 85.46 per cent of the votes. Around 148 voters voted in the first hour. Voting hit the highest point at 11 am with 186 voters and the lowest was around 6pm with 32 voters.
In Sharjah, poll turnout was 82.2 per cent; 82.38 per cent of the male and 81.75 per cent female Electoral College members voted.
In Ajman, 80.59 per cent votes were cast with 85.22 per cent males and 83.33 per cent females voting.
In Ras Al Khaimah, the turnout was 78.98 per cent (79.54 per cent males and 75.66 per cent females). Fujairah had 90.41 per cent turnout (with 90.77 per cent men and 88.64 per cent women). Umm Al Quwain saw a 88.83 per cent turnout where 88.64 per cent of the men voted while all women voters cast their ballot.
Male candidates won most of the votes in all emirates. In Sharjah, 72.13 per cent of the votes were for male candidates, Ajman 93.26 per cent, Ras Al Khaimah 86.28 per cent, Fujairah 80.90 per cent and Umm Al Quwain 98.04 per cent.
NUMBERS
Fujairah had the highest voter participation
The highest level of Electoral College voter turnout was in Fujairah where it reached 90 per cent. Umm Al Quwain came second with 88.8 per cent, followed by Ajman (85 per cent), said the statistics.
Sharjah had 27 women running for the elections, the highest among all the emirates, while Dubai came second with a total of 15, followed by Abu Dhabi with 14 candidates.
The only woman who secured enough votes to become the first female Federal National Council (FNC) member came from Abu Dhabi. She received the third highest votes in the emirate.
Overall, women across the emirates have fared poorly in terms of attracting votes. Most of the 63 female candidates had received either double or single digit votes. Three candidates in Dubai were an exception and received three digit totals each but it was not enough to secure any of them a seat in the FNC.
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