Abu Dhabi, UAE – 16 February 2024 – The Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs (MFNCA) has released the 10th issue of its ‘Political Participation’ magazine, which covers various topics related to the UAE’s parliamentary experience.
The issue underlines the notable political participation during the fifth Federal National Council (FNC) elections in 2023, which recorded remarkably positive results, reflecting the evolution of the culture of political participation and the growing political awareness among electoral college members. The Ministry also issued a supplement along with the magazine to mark its 10-year anniversary.
The opening article of the magazine, titled ‘Elections 2023: A Renewed Approach for Continued Success and Achieving the Vision of Our Wise Leadership’, highlights the success of the fifth FNC elections in 2023, which marks a new achievement in the UAE’s parliamentary process, underlining the active participation of electoral college members in the elections, who voted remotely (from across the UAE and abroad) or through the electronic voting option at various polling centres. This clearly demonstrates the growing political awareness among all segments of the UAE community.
Furthermore, the article highlights the key features of participation in the 2023 Federal National Council elections, most notably the active participation of youth and women. This, in turn, reaffirms the success of the Political Empowerment Programme, launched in 2005 to enable UAE citizens to participate more actively and make greater contributions, while also enhancing the FNC’s role in supporting and guiding the executive authority, enabling it to be more capable, effective, and closer to national issues and citizens’ concerns. These objectives serve to reinforce the values of genuine participation and the ‘Shura’ approach by implementing a systematic and gradual process.
The magazine’s 10th issue also includes an overview of a series of reports on the development of the 2023 FNC elections and the efforts made to ensure their success. One report titled ‘Towards a Pioneering Parliamentary Experience’ sheds light on the project management standards implemented for the 2023 FNC elections, citing statistics and outlining the criteria, stages, and mechanisms that took place during the electoral process. Meanwhile, another report titled ‘Employing Capacities and Resources to Organise an Electoral Process in Line with the Best International Standards’ outlines the organisational efforts that the MFNCA undertook to ensure the success of the fifth electoral cycle, investing notably in human resources, as well as legal, technical, and logistical requirements.
Under the articles section, the magazine publishes a series of articles, including one by His Excellency Tariq Hilal Lootah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs, Member of the National Elections Committee, and Head of the Committee’s Secretariat, titled ‘Reflections on Political Participation in the Fifth Electoral Cycle of 2023’, which highlights the key aspects of implementing the electoral process with transparency, accuracy, and integrity, presenting a set of relevant statistics.
Another article by H.E. Sami Mohammed Bin Adi, Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services at the MFNCA, member of the NEC, titled ‘Roadmap of the Electoral Process’, discusses the parliamentary experience, voting methods and their efficiency, presenting a set of statistics and a timeline of key stages in the electoral process.
Moreover, the issue features an article by H.E. Saeed Mohammad Al Eter Al Dhanhani, Chair of the UAE Government Media Office and member of the National Elections Committee (NEC), titled ‘Marketing the Electoral Process in the Media’, which addresses the media’s role in the success of the electoral process, along with several other related articles.
The magazine also includes an investigation titled ‘The Emirates’ Committees: A Vital Role and a Key Pillar in Achieving Success and Excellence in the 2023 Federal National Council Elections’, which discusses the efforts of Emirates committees across all emirates and the integration of their efforts, which had a significant impact on the successful implementation of the electoral process.
Meanwhile, the supplement issued with the magazine to mark its 10-year anniversary looks back on the most notable topics the magazine has covered in its previous issues, which sought to contribute towards raising political awareness and strengthening the culture of political participation among all segments of the community in the UAE.
