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Dubai: Women are likely to be nominated to the Federal National Council to ensure they are adequately represented if they fail to get elected in the forthcoming polls, a minister said on Wednesday.
Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, told a bankers lunch the current 40-member council will also be expanded and be given greater powers over time to improve its working.
About 1,000 women have been nominated among the more than 6,000 electoral college members. "Personally, I am against quotas," Gargash said referring to representation of women.
"But it is likely that the Rulers of the Emirates would nominate women to the council if they are not elected through polls."
"We are not talking about democracy here. We are talking about greater political participation," he said.
He said the Gulf was strewn with examples of conflict, polarised parliaments and dogmatic governments, and the UAE has to ensure this was not repeated here.
Interim Arab Parliament meeting
The Secretariat of the Federal National Council (FNC) will take part in the second ordinary meeting of the Interim Arab Parliament.
The meeting opens in Cairo on Friday.
The FNC Secretariat delegation, which is to be led to the meeting by Mohammad Salim Al Mazroui, FNC Secretary General, include Abdul Rahman Ali Al Shamsi, Assistant Secretary General for Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Khalid Abdullah Al Naqabi, Assistant Counsellor, and Juma Saeed Al Muhairi, Public Relations Officer.
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