Ajman: The FNC elections in Ajman was a national affair as much as a family one. Observers say this year’s polls, a milestone in UAE’s history of direct representation, was marked by the dominance of the tribal allegiances, personal relations, and voters’ sense of duty.

Khamis Al Shamsi, a student at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, was one of the early birds at the Ajman polling station. His father, Abdullah Hamad Al Shamsi, 55, is one of the candidates vying to represent Ajman. “More than 50 members of my family are voting. I voted for no one else but him,” said Al Shamsi.

“It’s a great experience to vote for the first time for something that may have something to do with the rest of our lives,” said Khamis. “Our wish is to have a good parliament, a helpmate in national development.”

Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, 33, was one of the first voters to finish the electronic balloting. Al Nuaimi said that he was not clearly instructed that he should vote for two candidates at the same time.

“Voters here should be specifically told they must pick two candidates at once. So I wasted my other vote because I was not told that if I voted for one person only, and pressed the ‘continue’ button I will not able to go back and vote again for another one,” Al Nuaimi said.

Voter responsibility

The sense of duty among citizens was epitomised by an old woman in a hospital bed who was wheeled into the voting centre at around 4pm to vote for her candidates.

Some voters were glad that they were able to contribute to their country’s history. Ahmad Mohammad Al Daheri, 33, a policeman, said: “I’m quite happy to have taken part in this historic vote.”

UAE’s fledgling electoral democracy kicked off to an exciting start in Ajman with polling booths opening as expected from 8am.

The parking lot of Ajman University for Science and Technology in Al Jarf Area bustled with voters yesterday morning, a sign that they have taken their role seriously.

In general, the voting went smoothly. Most voters took five minutes each to complete the electoral process.

Ajman, one of the smaller emirates, elected two representatives to the 40-member FNC.