A minister on Sunday urged UAE citizens to check their names in the electoral college list and participate actively in the October 3 Federal National Council (FNC) elections for a transparent electoral process.
Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs and Chairman of the National Election Committee (NEC) pointed out that it is the vital responsibility of voters to participate actively in the elections to enable a transparent electoral process that would lead to the election of the right candidates capable of serving the homeland and the citizens.
He also said the electoral process for the upcoming FNC polls has reached an important milestone with the announcement of the preliminary list of candidates.
NEC on Sunday announced a preliminary list of candidates running in the October 3 FNC elections.
There are 347 candidates in the first list with 97 candidates registering in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, 62 in Dubai, 65 in Sharjah while Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah has 42, 23, 20, and 38 respectively.
Among them, 78 are women candidates, with 24 registrations in Abu Dhabi, 22 in Dubai, 13 in Sharjah, 5 in Ras Al Khaimah, 4 in Ajman, 3 in Umm Al Quwain, and 7 in Fujairah.
The minister also called on the members of the electoral college to consider the priorities of the nation and choose the candidates based on public interest.
Dr Gargash commended the enthusiasm and positive efforts shown by the electoral college members to submit their nominations to run for the elections during the five days of the registration process.
As a result, the registration process was a successful event, carried out in an orderly and professional manner without any glitches or errors, Dr Gargash added.
The minister pointed out that names announced by the NEC on Sunday are not the final approved list of candidates. The final list will be announced by the Committee on August 31 with the conclusion of the appeals period, he said, adding that each candidate will receive a reference number which must be used in their election campaign.
Three-day objection
Starting today, NEC will allow submission of objections against candidate nominations for three days.
Objection requests can be made to the relevant Emirates Committee on a prescribed form during this period, with supporting documents and a fee of Dh3,000, which will be refunded if the appeal is found to be valid. The fee will not be refunded if the appeal is rejected.
The Appeals Committee will take a decision on the appeals made against candidates.
This committee, headed by a judge and two members competent in legal procedures will examine electoral appeals and report their opinion to the NEC for final verdict.
Subsequently, NEC will issue its decisions on Thursday.
The decisions of NEC will be final and no further appeal will be accepted. The committee will announce the final list of candidates on August 31.
NEC has also urged the candidates to meet their deadlines to begin their campaign and comply with the regulations stipulated in the executive instructions, in order to ensure the conduct of the electoral process in a civilised and honourable manner in line with the reputation of the country.
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