Dubai: Eight times as many American expats in the UAE who visited American Business Council of Dubai and Northern Emirates seeking help with absentee ballots say they are voting for US Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton over her opponent US Republican candidate Donald Trump.
The small informal sampling of visitors were drawn from 150 visitors who attended a new voting centre set up at the business council at the Atrium building to help American expats secure absentee ballots and election-related documents ahead of the November 8 election day in the United States.
“Our informal discussions with those willing to share the details of their vote has led us to conclude that there has been a strong turnout from Hillary Clinton voters. While there have been Donald Trump votes cast, we have witnessed a nearly eightfold margin between the number of votes cast in Hillary Clinton’s favour,” Bilal Sabouni, CEO of the American Business Council, told Gulf News.
Staff working at the facility to help US voters ensure they cast ballots from overseas in time for the election said they noticed a slow change in moods of American expats who were frequenting the voting centre.
“The mood of visitors has changed and slowly evolved over the months. As we steadily near the election date, the mood has increasingly turned desperate and anxious. Some voters feel their professional and corporate reputation is at stake and others feel that their personal livelihoods would be affected,” Sabouni said in an interview.
Strong political feelings, emotions and a sense of a possible close election are driving voters to make sure that they send their votes home to the US to be counted, he said.
“First of all, there is a lot more general awareness on the voting process and the fact that it really makes a difference. Previous misconceptions had absentee voters thinking that their vote didn’t count or wouldn’t be tallied unless there was a close contest in a state. The fact of the matter is that all votes are counted, and all votes are very important. We also have had experiences such as the Gore vs Bush election in the year 2000 which was decided based on just a few hundred votes in Florida,” Sabouni said.
Votes over breakfast
Given a nine-hour time difference between Washington and Dubai, November 8 election day ballot box results to select the 45th president of the United States will just be coming into the UAE at breakfast time the next day.
To gauge incoming down-ballot wins as well as the confirmation of the winning next president of the United States, the American Business Council is hosting an election breakfast on November 9 to watch the results live.
“Americans from across the region will gather together to ‘Build Bridges over Breakfast’, and watch the results live on a series of TVs set up. Because of the time difference, we’ll wake up early on the morning of the 9th, gathering at 6.30am to watch the live TV coverage. We are expecting upwards of 100 people or more to attend,” said Sabouni.
The event is scheduled to take place at Marriott Marquis from 6.30am until 9.30am and beyond.
Registration details can be found on www.abcdubai.com
Meanwhile, although not confirmed, The Capital Club in DIFC in Dubai is also considering an election breakfast for November 9 at the private-members’ club but the time has not been announced,
For details, log on to www.capitalclubdubai.com
