Dubai: Yesterday’s elections saw a healthy participation from women voters.

Latifa Al Suwaidi, 36, a gold-medallist special needs athlete and government employee, voted for a candidate who supports special needs people.

“I voted for this candidate because I know her, she used to work at my club — Dubai Club for the Disabled — and I know she cares about issues that face us as people with special needs. She always helps people with special needs and so I am sure she will represent us in the FNC,” she said.

Latifa said that she could not vote during the early voting period because of her work and training.

“The process was very easy and organised and I am really happy I voted,” she added.

Dr Buthaina Bin Bilailah, who is a doctor at the Ministry of Health, voted for her candidate based on his profile and his previous experiences. “I feel confident that he is a good choice and will add to the FNC,”

She praised the organisation and ease of the election process.

Ahmad Mohammad Bin Humaidan, Head of the Dubai Election Committee, said that he toured the different centres on Saturday morning, adding that the overall turnout was good at the six centres in Dubai.

He noted that the polling station in Al Khawaneej saw an unexpected large number of voters.

“We expect more voters throughout the day, and the centres have the capacity to accommodate large numbers of voters,” he said.

For instance, he said, the Dubai World Trade Centre had 70 booths for voting.

“We have been sending SMS messages to remind voters to vote and sending informative messages, which include locations of the different polling centres,” Bin Humaidan said.

More than 780,000 SMSs were sent out to voters since the early voting period.

Aliah Abdul Razak Anwahi, a 27-year-old student, and her mother, Khairiya Al Bastaki, voted for the same candidate.

“My mum was the one who encouraged me to come today to vote and it is also my national duty, as this is the least I can do for my beloved country after all it has provided for us,” Aliah said.

Khairiya said that they both voted for the same candidate because of his experience and because they felt his campaign was comprehensive and addressed many aspects.

“We also voted for the same candidate four years ago in the previous election,” Khairiya said.