Emiratis abroad can vote in FNC elections

Polling station committees abroad will be receiving voters on Sunday and Monday between 10am and 6pm, the local time of each country.

ABU DHABI // Eligible voters overseas can cast their votes for the Federal National Council (FNC) at UAE Embassies and missions abroad starting Sunday.

Voting abroad will continue for two days at 94 polling stations designated by the National Election Commission (NEC) and approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Polling station committees abroad will be receiving voters through Monday between 10am and 6pm local time.

Ballot boxes for the elections have been dispatched to UAE missions abroad. Emirates ID, issued by the Emirates Identity Authority, is required to vote abroad and in the UAE.

It is the first time overseas voting is being made available.

Tariq Lootah, undersecretary of the Ministry of State for FNC Affairs and chairman of the Election Management Committee, said the NEC and MoFA have finalised all arrangements for voting outside of the UAE as per standards, which he said were the highest in the world, to ensure accuracy, transparency and integrity of the elections.

He said that the overseas stations were part of the NEC’s efforts to enable citizens abroad to exercise their right to vote.

Members of the Electoral College can check the address of diplomatic missions abroad on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (www.mofa.gov.ae) or the National Election Committee site at www.uaenec.ae.

The NEC is asking citizens to confirm if their names are on the voters' list to enable them to vote on the October 3 election day. The names can be verified by visiting www.uaenec.ae or through NEC's call centre at 600500005.

“Overseas voting is a first for the UAE and a new process that we hope will consolidate the elections in our country and will play a key role towards reaching an integrated electoral experience” said Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs and NEC Chairman.

Early voting in the UAE will be held from September 28-30 to accommodate those who cannot vote on election day.

Meanwhile, the NEC said on Saturday that it would take legal action against anyone who violated election campaign rules and was monitoring the advertising campaigns of candidates.