| The first-ever elections to the Federal National Council (FNC) – the consultative body of the UAE – were held on 16, 18 and 20 December, 2006. Following are some of the highlights of the indirect election process: |
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Half the members of the FNC were indirectly elected by a college of councilors; and rest appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates |
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Each ruler constituted a local council which had 100 times the number of FNC representatives – for example, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which are each entitled to eight seats on the FNC, nominated 800 electors each to their respective electoral colleges. |
| The first-ever elections to the Federal National Council (FNC) – the consultative body of the UAE – were held on 16, 18 and 20 December, 2006. Following are some of the highlights of the indirect election process: |
|
Half the members of the FNC were indirectly elected by a college of councilors; and rest appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates |
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Each ruler constituted a local council which had 100 times the number of FNC representatives – for example, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which are each entitled to eight seats on the FNC, nominated 800 electors each to their respective electoral colleges. Similarly, Sharjah and Ras Al-Khaimah are entitled to six each, while Umm Al-Qaiwain, Ajman and Fujairah are entitled to four seats each on the FNC, and were able to nominate members in multiples of 100. |
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All these representatives combined then elected half the members of each emirate to the FNC, with the ruler appointing the other half |
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The final approved Election Commission list had 6,595 members, including about 1,162 women, to be members of seven local assemblies that would vote |
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In all, 452 candidates, 63 of them women, contested the elections. |
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While one woman was directly elected to the FNC, the government nominated eight others to the 40-member Council, which translates into 22.5 percent share of the seats. |
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