Huge response to landmark elections

Abu Dhabi/Fujairah: The first round of elections for six members of the Federal National Council from Abu Dhabi and Fujairah held on Saturday was a landmark in many ways.

The results gave the country its first woman to be directly elected to the UAE's advisory council, the Federal National Council (FNC). The turnout on the first day was also an encouraging one of more than 60 per cent in Abu Dhabi and 90.4 per cent in Fujairah.

In Abu Dhabi, the total number of eligible voters was 1,741 (1,359 males and 382 females) with 1,048 turning up to cast their votes.

Presence of women

Among the 99 Abu Dhabi candidates for the four seats, 14 were women. Only one woman was elected, securing the third highest number of votes.

In Fujairah, the total voters were 417 (81 females and 336 males) with 90.4 per cent turning up to vote. Despite a strong female presence in the electoral college, none of the female candidates received enough votes to win. There was only one female candidate in the run against 34 men for the two FNC seats for the emirate. She received five votes.

The six elected members from Abu Dhabi and Fujairah hail from different backgrounds and include a professor, an experienced FNC member, a diplomat, a business expert and even two cousins.