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Abu Dhabi: Sharjah topped the primary list with 101 candidates registered to take part in the Federal National Council (FNC) elections, with Abu Dhabi a close second with 100, it was announced yesterday.
The primary candidate list includes 65 women or 14.25 per cent of the total candidates, a trend that highlights the interest of Emirati women to participate in the development of the country.
The National Election Committee (NEC) will start receiving any challenges against candidates from Saturday and the final candidate list will be announced on November 30.
Over 450 Electoral College members had nominated themselves during the four-day registration process held at the various emirates. The elections will be held next month.
Ras Al Khaimah came third with 83 candidates, followed by Dubai with 82 candidates. Fujairah won the 5th slot with 37 candidates, followed by Umm Al Quwain with 29 candidates. In the 7th slot came Ajman, where 22 candidates filed their nominations.
The primary candidate list includes 65 women or 14.25 per cent of the total candidates, a trend that highlights the interest of UAE national women to politically participate and support the development of the country.
The number of women in the list across the emirates are: Abu Dhabi 14, Dubai 15, Sharjah 29, Ras Al Khaimah 3, Ajman 2, Umm Al Quwain 1 and Fujairah l.
The NEC said the positive feedback to the nomination process showed the enthusiasm of the various sub-committee members and EC members.
The NEC also highlighted the commitment of EC members towards implementing the directives set by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to empower the FNC.
This reflects the needs and aspirations of UAE citizens, and will further modernise an already consensus-based system.
Timeline
The NEC has urged the nominees to abide by the timeline and the executive directives that have been announced for launching the election campaigns.
This is to assure the success of the first-ever UAE elections and build further on the growing reputation of the country regionally and internationally as a successful and forward looking state.
Campaigning will begin on December 1 for a fortnight, while the deadline for withdrawal from the elections is December 9. The deadline for submitting provy candidates is December 9.
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