2011 Emirati parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in the United Arab Emirates on 24 September 2011 to elect the half of the members of Federal National Council.[1] The elections were held using electoral colleges, which were expanded from around 6,689 members in the 2006 elections to 129,274.[2] However, only 35,877 voters voted, with a voter turnout of 27.75%.[2]

2011 Emirati parliamentary election
United Arab Emirates
24 September 2011
20 of the 40 seats in the Federal National Council
Turnout27.75% (Decrease 46.65pp)
Party Seats +/–
Independents 20 0
Speaker before Speaker after
Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair
Independent		 Mohammad Al Murr
Independent

Electoral college

The 2011 parliamentary elections had an expanded electoral college constituting 129,274 members, made up of 46% females and 54% males, of which 35% were younger than 30 years.[3]

Candidates

Nominations of candidates took place between 14 and 17 August.[4] On 20 August 2011, the National Elections Commission announced the preliminary list of candidates, stating that 469 members of the electoral college nominated themselves to be candidates to run for the parliamentary elections. Of those 469 nominees, 85 were women.[5]

EmirateCandidatesFemale candidates
Abu Dhabi11722
Dubai12426
Sharjah9416
Ras Al Khaimah609
Ajman345
Umm Al Quwain194
Fujairah213
Total46985

After last-minute applications were taken into account, the final list included 477 candidates.[6]

Campaign

The campaign period lasted from 4 to 21 September 2011.[4] Some observers called for a delay in the voting process to allow for more time for candidates to campaign.[7]

Candidates were prohibited from using religion in their campaign,[6] and were limited to spend AED 2 million (US$544,400).[8]

Results
Emirate Elected member Votes
Abu Dhabi Salem Al Ameri 2,815
Mohammad Al Ameri 2,380
Mohammad Al Qubaisi 1,199
Ahmad Al Ameri 1,153
Dubai Hamad Al Rahoumi 1327
Marwan Bin Ghulaita 1,195
Ahmad Ahli 1,164
Rashad Bukhash 1,077
Sharjah Salem Bin Howayden 805
Ahmad Al Jarwan 766
Musabbah Al Ketbi 652
Ras al-Khaimah Ahmed Abdullah Al Amash 1,449
Saeed Al Khateri 957
Faisal Al Tunaiji 717
Ajman Sultan Al Shamsi 296
Abdullah Al Shamsi 287
Fujairah Ghareeb Al Suraidi 436
Sultan Al Yamahi 396
Umm Al Quwain Sheikha Al Ari 536
Obeid Al Alili 332
Source: NEC

Turnout by emirate
Emirate Registered Voted Turnout
Abu Dhabi47,44410,10921.31
Dubai37,5149,26824.71
Sharjah13,9375,89042.26
Ras Al Khaimah16,8505,08530.18
Umm Al Quwain3,2851,79654.67
Ajman3,9201,56239.85
Fujairah6,3242,16734.27
Total129,27435,87727.75
Source: NEC, NEC

Nominated members

The appointed members announced were:[9]

  • Abu Dhabi:
  1. Noura Al Kaabi
  2. Sultan Al Daheri
  3. Khalifa Al Suwaidi
  4. Amal Al Qubaisi
  • Dubai:
  1. Afra Al Basti
  2. Mona Al Bahar
  3. Mohammad Al Murr
  4. Ahmad Al Mansouri
  • Sharjah:
  1. Shaikha Al Owais
  2. Ahmad Al Zaabi
  3. Yaqoub Al Naqbi
  • Ras Al Khaimah:
  1. Abdul Al Zaabi
  2. Rashid Al Shuraiqi
  3. Abdul Al Shaheen
  • Ajman:
  1. Ahmad Al Shamsi
  2. Ali Al Nuaimi
  • Fujairah:
  1. Mohammad Al Raqabani
  2. Aisha Al Yamahi
  • Umm Al Quwain:
  1. Ali Ahmad
  2. Humaid Ali

Aftermath

Mohammad Al Murr was elected unopposed as speaker of the Federal National Council.

References
  1. UAE to hold second ever election in September Reuters, 16 March 2011
  2. Elections in 2011 IPUM
  3. Statistics and figures National Elections Commission
  4. Election timetable National Elections Commission
  5. 469 مرشح ومرشحة على القائمة الأولية لانتخابات المجلس الوطني الاتحادي National Elections Commission
  6. Candidates for FNC cleared for final list The National, 25 August 2011
  7. FNC elections: Make it late to make it right Gulf News, 14 July 2011
  8. UAE nationals ask: Why can’t we all vote? The Huffington Post, 21 September 2011
  9. Shaikh Khalifa to open new FNC term Gulf News, 15 November 2011
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