Parliamentary elections were held in the United Arab Emirates on 5 October 2019 to elect 20 of the 40 members of the Federal National Council. As there were no political parties at the time of the elections, all candidates ran as independents.
The elections took place through an electoral college, the membership of which was expanded from 224,279 in 2015 to 337,738 in 2019.FNC candidate registration centres launched Gulf News, 7 August 2019
Electoral system The Federal National Council consists of 40 members, 20 of whom are appointed by the rulers of each emirate and 20 are elected by single non-transferable vote in seven electoral colleges based on the emirates. The colleges of Abu Dhabi and Dubai elects four members each, the colleges of Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah three each, and the colleges of Ajman, Fujairah and Umm al-Quwain two each.Electoral system IPU Voters can vote for only one candidate in their emirate.Federal National Council elections: how to vote The National, 30 September 2019
In December 2018, President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a directive that half the members of the Council should be women.Sheikh Khalifa: UAE's Federal National Council to be 50 per cent women The National, 8 December 2018
Under the constitution of the United Arab Emirates, "each emirate shall be free to determine the method of selecting the citizens representing it in the Federal National Council". The rulers of each emirate decides who will be able to vote; the total number of voters has increased at each election, with an objective that all citizens will be able to vote in the future.The Political System of the UAE Government of the United Arab Emirates
On election day, 39 voting centers were opened in the UAE, nine of which had been open for early voting on 1–3 October. Overseas voters were able to vote in UAE embassies on 22 and 23 September.FNC election, everything you need to know Gulf News, 30 September 2019
Campaign A total of 479 candidates contested the elections.The nation votes: residents head to polling stations for landmark FNC elections The National, 5 October 2019
Results A total of 117,592 votes were cast, a voter turnout of 34.81%. The number of votes cast increased by 48.5% compared to the 2015 elections.
The UAE has a 50% quota system for women in parliament. Therefore 50% of all parliament seats are reserved for women. As a result of the quota system, seven of the 20 elected members were women,Newly elected members of Federal National Council revealed The National, 6 October 2019 although the sole incumbent elected female MP Naama al-Sharhan failed to win re-election in Ras al-Khaimah.Election results National Election Commission To achieve gender parity, 13 of the 20 appointed members were women.
Elected members EmirateElected membersVotesNotesAbu DhabiSuhail al-Affari2,624Khalfan al-Shamsi2,495Naema al-Mansouri444Moaza al-Amri370DubaiHamad al-Rahoumi1,517Re-electedOsama al-Shafar1,032Mariam Bin Thania374Sarah Filknaz333SharjahHumaid al-Shamsi1,227Adnan al-Hammadi985Obaid al-Ghoul947Ras al-KhaimahYousef al-Shihhi2,569Saeed al-Abdi1,649Ahmad al-Shihhi1,501AjmanAhmad Suwaidi680Hind al-Olayli114FujairahMohammed al-Yammahi2,160Re-electedSabreen al-Yamahi955Umm al-QuwainMohammed al-Kashef919Athra Bin Rakkad270Source: The National
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