FNC concern over unannounced election dates

Members of the FNC have voiced concern about the lack of an announcement. Elections would traditionally be held in autumn.

Mosabeh Al Kitbi (Sharjah) says he will ask Dr Anwar Gargash to say when this year’s election will be held. Christopher Pike / The National

ABU DHABI // FNC members have voiced concern that the National Election Committee has yet to announce the dates of this year’s election.

The elections should take place before autumn, when the next council is scheduled to be commenced in accordance with the Constitution.

Mosabeh Al Kitbi (Sharjah) said he was planning to ask Dr Anwar Gargash, the head of the committee (NEC) and Minister of State for FNC Affairs, at an upcoming FNC session when the election would take place and how the NEC was planning for it.

Since last autumn the NEC has met several times. Committee members said they had discussed the election, but little has been revealed of what has been decided at those meetings.

In 2011, when the previous election was held, the NEC announced the September election date in March that year.

The campaign period was from September 4 to 21 in 2011.

Election candidates registered their bid from August 14 to 18, with the final list of candidates announced on August 28.

Although many people believed that the delayed announcement of this year’s election could mean that similar dates would apply, this was now viewed as unlikely.

Eid Al Adha, a public holiday, is expected to fall on September 23 this year, and it would be impossible to hold the election then.

By this time four years ago, the NEC had already made major announcements about the election.

In February 2011, the NEC said the number of Emiratis eligible to vote would increase and it also released updated election guidelines. Ahmed Ahli (Dubai) said FNC members had not even received unofficial information about the elections.

He said the NEC should at least ensure that the names on the electoral college list for this year were announced early enough to give people time to prepare and decide whether they would like to run or merely vote.

In 2011, the electoral college list, which included just under 130,000 names, was released in July.