Dubai: The elections for the Federal National Council (FNC), held yesterday [Saturday], will highlight priority areas for Emiratis, top government officials said after voting in Dubai.
Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammad Al Owais, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, who is also Minister of Health and Prevention, told Gulf News: “A lot of issues are being raised (by the candidates).” He said as winners in the election, they “will work with us under the parliament dome”.
“At the end of the day, [it will be those issues] that will help the Emirates to be in a better situation. It’s always what is close to our nationals and, God willing, that will help developing a better Emirates for everyone,” he added.
After casting his vote at the main polling centre at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, told Gulf News the elections play a key role in identifying the concerns of Emiratis and addressing them at the higher level.
“What is important for us in the UAE, and for our nationals, is that we choose our candidates based on their priorities and their agendas that have been presented, whether it is on the economy, or the environment; it could be political or it could be social,” Al Mansouri said.
“And, of course, through that we’re able to identify – and through the government also – what are the priorities of our nationals and maybe we can address them also at the higher level eventually. We are eager to see the new elected members to the [FNC] and to be able to also represent these issues in a more detailed way.”
‘Turnout is fine’
Ahmad Mohammad Bin Humaidan, chairman of the Dubai Election Committee, said he was pleased with the turnout and variety of voters at DWTC, which saw a representation from both men and women, as well as people of determination.
Bin Humaidanm said on Saturday afternoon before voting ended at 8pm, it was “premature” to provide the number of voters in Dubai, which had six polling centres. The Electoral College includes 60,772 voters from Dubai.
“You can see the citizens’ happiness is here... We’ve got around 49 voting stations [at DWTC] which makes it very easy for them. [The turnout] is fine. You don’t see crowds because the process is lean, the flow is fast and the number of stations is high,” Bin Humaidan added.
First-time voters
Fatma Al Zaffin, a government employee who voted for the first time, said the process was “very easy”. She voted “after going through the candidate’s background and seeing if this candidate will take our voice to the [FNC]”.
Another first-time voter, Abdulla Al Dah, a businessman, had expected a big queue at the ballot but was pleasantly surprised to finish voting is less than a minute. He said “I looked at the profile of the gentleman who I voted for and I have a sense he will do something better for the community”.
