Federal National Council needs to play a greater legislative role

The UAE's landmark step in 2006 to hold partial elections to elect half the FNC members, instead of appointment, is a step forward on the road towards general elections for all the seats. But four years on, the Council has matured and requires greater powers to contribute effectively to governance in the modern age.

In recent years, the UAE has witnessed many developments towards enhancing the role of the Federal National Council (FNC) in light of the important changes in UAE society over the past four decades.

Major global events and the growing interest in issues such as human rights and democracy are among factors that have contributed to expanding the scope of public participation in governance.

Among prominent developments related to the FNC is the issuance of a number of constitutional amendments, the most important of which is the election of half the members of the FNC by electoral colleges selected by each emirate.

These constitutional amendments have enhanced and promoted the culture of democracy and elections in UAE society — a fact that was reflected by the voter turnout of 79 per cent in the country's first elections in 2006.

Other advantages include the increased participation of women in elections both in terms of contesting for parliamentary seats and voting. The 2006 elections saw the first woman being elected to the House of Representatives in the Gulf region. This increased enthusiasm for widening women's participation in the legislative body, a move illustrated by the government's decision to appoint eight women to the FNC.

This brought the percentage of women in the legislature to 20.2 per cent — one of the highest rates in the world.

Longer term

Another positive step taken by the government in its quest to enhance the FNC's role is to increase its legislative term from two to four years as per the amendment announced in 2008.

Undoubtedly, the four-year term will allow FNC members to contribute more and do their best to serve the people as well. It will also give them sufficient time to acquaint themselves with the people's needs and examine and follow up on legislation and government policies.

Among other positive constitutional amendments are the increasing of the duration of the ordinary session and the establishment of a general secretariat, chaired by a secretary-general whose powers are decided by internal regulations to be set by the FNC and approved by the UAE President, not by a Cabinet decision.

This clearly means that the new amendment has consolidated the principle of separation of powers as the main pillar of the supremacy of law.

The government has further enhanced the FNC's role by saying that it will notify the FNC about any international agreements and treaties signed with other countries and international organisations. These will be debated by the FNC before endorsement. This amendment empowers the FNC to examine these agreements before endorsing them.

Previously, the FNC's role was confined to being informed about agreements after they were concluded and endorsed. No doubt, these new proposals and constitutional amendments have expanded the scope of the FNC's powers, but they are insufficient to develop the FNC so that it becomes more effective with regard to its jurisdiction and power in the fields of legislation and parliamentary control.

For example, the FNC has debated tens of draft laws in recent years, expressed its reservations over many and even rejected some. The government has even accepted many amendments proposed by the FNC.

In an interview in July 2009, FNC Speaker Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair said that the amendment rate of the FNC ranged from 23 per cent to 65 per cent of the total articles of draft laws that were submitted in 2009.

The FNC also addressed questions to ministers, and its special committees have discussed and examined many important topics, such as the issues of Emiratisation, food security, education and expatriate workforce, among others.

But the 40-member council still remains a mere consultative body, not a legislative one, which consequently confines its mission of questioning ministers to an advisory framework.

In my opinion, this parliamentary experiment, 40 years after its emergence, has matured, and needs to be developed so as to cope with the requirements of the modern age.

This is bearing in mind the solidarity between the leadership and its people, who stand firmly behind it and enjoy a standard of living and development that cannot be matched by other places in the region and the world.

The development of the FNC into an effective legislative body has become a vital necessity so as to achieve the goals listed in the introduction to the constitution.

Democratic experience

Certainly, the landmark step the government took in 2006 by adopting the idea of partial elections to elect half the FNC members, instead of appointment, is a step forward on the road towards general elections for all the FNC seats.

In the 2006 elections, candidates who contested the FNC membership got their first democratic experience in line with the requirements of parliamentary democracy and regulations in terms of publicity, media and contact with the people.

Another achievement is that women were given the right of political participation.

Yet, despite the importance of the elections, there were some negative points. The most prominent was that it was the electoral college — consisting of 6,689 people — which elected half the members, not all UAE citizens of voting age.

This figure did exceed one per cent of the total number of UAE citizens who are eligible to vote and run for the elections.

Still, the introduction of the concept of elections is a step forward on the long road to parliamentary democracy.

This is simply because economic liberalism always needs political liberalism and community participation.

Achieving this equation is important to develop national cadres so as to equip them to shoulder their national responsibilities in view of a legislative environment that ensures the principles of transparency and citizenship in terms of rights and duties. This is in keeping with regional and international changes and our country's commitments to international laws and agreements.

Mohammed Omran Taryam is a member of the Sharjah Consultative Council.