Umm Al Quwain: Voters favoured the track record and personality of candidates over pledges made during campaigning as “anyone can make promises”.
“I chose someone with a strong personality who has experience in helping people. He has money so he doesn’t need to run for any other reason but to help people,” Emirati voter Hamada Saif Al Ali said.
“Anyone can make promises, but does the candidate have a history in solving problems? I did my research on my candidate.”
Another voter, Abdullah Rashid Hilal, who is a lawyer, said some candidates make promises they can’t keep because there is no basis for their fulfilment under current laws.
Hilal, who said he was a winner in the previous FNC elections, added that candidates should be selected for their ability and willingness to deliver on concrete plans, and not on the basis of exaggerated claims made just to attract more votes.
In the small coastal emirate of Umm Al Quwain, 20 candidates were eligible to contest the election for two seats in the FNC. Two more were directly appointed.
On Saturday, the main day of voting and a regular public sector holiday, there were only a handful of voters early morning. The pace picked up towards late afternoon, and included more women. A handful of voters were elderly and some people with special needs.
It only took most people two minutes to complete the voting process, said Abdullah Al Ali, manager of the voting centre in Umm Al Quwain.
“A few voters required assistance, which was readily available. We had 31 people working in three shifts from morning till night. There were also two assistance counters, besides 21 polling booths and 10 counters to check voters’ ID.”
Al Ali added: “Because it is the third elections, and we already had three days of early voting this time, a lot more people are participating and they know what to do.”
Voting proceeded in near silence in the huge hall, which was only punctuated by the live national TV coverage of the elections on giant projector screens.
