Contestant crosses first hurdle at filing

Ras Al Khaimah: A member of the Ras Al Khaimah Electoral College spent more than an hour filling his application to register for Federal National Council polls.

The candidate from remote Wadi Sfeni spent the past month honing his reading and writing skills to be allowed to register his nomination.

The candidate can barely read and write. Election officials watched him closely, but no one gave him a helping hand. The candidate was told that if he failed to fill the application, his candidacy would not be accepted.

The man asked the committee to give him enough time, saying that nobody can impose time restrictions on him. He said the law did not impose a time limit for filling an application.

The candidate took more than an hour to fill his application in bad handwriting but election officials accepted and processed his application.

The candidate was extremely happy at being able to fill the application, which usually takes a couple of minutes. The candidate told Gulf News filling the application was a test and an obstacle to his candidacy.

He said he was aware of the rules set by the National Election Committee and had spent more than a month preparing for the day. He said his tribesmen encouraged him to run for polls and helped in his training.