Chief Editor
04-10-2006, 09:47 AM
UAE to hold its first council vote in December
02/10/2006
The United Arab Emirates will hold its first elections in December but only a few thousand citizens will take part in the vote for the Gulf Arab state's consultative council.
State news agency WAM said late on Sunday that the cabinet had approved a list of 6,689 Emiratis, including 1,189 women, to be members of seven local assemblies that would elect half of the Federal National Council (FNC), an advisory body.
The vote will take place on December 16, 18, and 20 and the remaining members of the council will be appointed.
Cabinet also approved a sum of 16 million dirhams ($4.36 million) to support the electoral process in the UAE, a federation of seven emirates.
The 40 members of the FNC have until now been appointed by the ruler of each emirate in the UAE, the only country without elected bodies in the Gulf Arab region.
Reformists have called for the FNC to become an elected parliament with the power to propose laws and discuss public issues without permission from the cabinet.
The UAE, an oil producer and booming trading hub, is a close ally of the United States.
The UAE lags behind neighbouring Gulf Arab states, which are still governed by ruling dynasties, in introducing elections.
In June Kuwait allowed women to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time.
Bahrainis go to the polls in November and even Saudi Arabia held limited municipal elections last year.
-Reuters-
02/10/2006
The United Arab Emirates will hold its first elections in December but only a few thousand citizens will take part in the vote for the Gulf Arab state's consultative council.
State news agency WAM said late on Sunday that the cabinet had approved a list of 6,689 Emiratis, including 1,189 women, to be members of seven local assemblies that would elect half of the Federal National Council (FNC), an advisory body.
The vote will take place on December 16, 18, and 20 and the remaining members of the council will be appointed.
Cabinet also approved a sum of 16 million dirhams ($4.36 million) to support the electoral process in the UAE, a federation of seven emirates.
The 40 members of the FNC have until now been appointed by the ruler of each emirate in the UAE, the only country without elected bodies in the Gulf Arab region.
Reformists have called for the FNC to become an elected parliament with the power to propose laws and discuss public issues without permission from the cabinet.
The UAE, an oil producer and booming trading hub, is a close ally of the United States.
The UAE lags behind neighbouring Gulf Arab states, which are still governed by ruling dynasties, in introducing elections.
In June Kuwait allowed women to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time.
Bahrainis go to the polls in November and even Saudi Arabia held limited municipal elections last year.
-Reuters-