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Abu Dhabi: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a decree on Tuesday on the method of electing representatives of the Federal National Council (FNC), which calls for the setting up of a National Electoral Committee to be chaired by Minister of State for FNC Affairs, WAM reported.
Decree No. 3 of 2006 stipulates that members of the committee should include the minister of justice, minister of health, minister of culture, youth and community development, secretary-general of the ministry of presidential affairs, Interior Ministry undersecretary, and secretary-general of Ministry of State for FNC Affairs, who is to act as the committee's rapporteur, in addition to two public personalities who are to be selected by the committee's chairman.
The election of 50 per cent of the members of the 40-member Federal National Council will be held for the first time in the UAE since the establishment of the council in 1971.
The rest of the FNC members will be named by the Rulers of the Emirates based on a quota that ensures representation of different emirates based on demographics.
According to the Constitution, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, while Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah are represented by six members each. The rest of the emirates, Umm Al Quwain, Ajman and Fujairah, are represented by four each.
In a statement to WAM, Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs, said the practical arrangement put in place to allow half of the FNC members to be elected "is now complete with the issuance of this decree by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan", adding that the new decree had now "set sail the implementation phase of the process".
"The National Electoral Committee, set up by the president, is the sole body empowered to conduct and supervise the coming elections, which, I expect to be held by the end of this year, God willing," said the minister.
He said in the formation of the committee, considerations had been made to ensure that the committee reflects across-the-board representation with all sectors being represented. He said the committee would later issue the necessary implementation measures and instructions.
Dr Gargash said the presidential decree contains advanced political connotations, adding that it would play a positive role in developing the country's parliamentary system "based on the president's vision of developing the country's participatory political system in a three-step system as elaborated in the president's historic address to the nation on December 1, 2005."
He said it represents a unique development that would augment the country's democratic process, boost participatory democracy and achieve balanced development, which is the strategic plan of the UAE government, headed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
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