Dr. Anwar Gargash: Electoral bodies must participate effectively and transparently in selecting candidates capable of serving the country and advancing the citizen
His Excellency Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, Chairman of the National Elections Committee, affirmed that the electoral process for members of the Federal National Council 2015 will witness, since this morning, a new chapter of great importance represented by the rise of the role of voters to the forefront of the electoral process, especially with the end of The period for registering candidates and announcing the preliminary list of candidates, calling on His Excellency all citizens to verify that their names are included in the lists of electoral bodies so that they can exercise their right to vote on polling day.
His Excellency Dr. Anwar Gargash pointed to the great responsibility that members of the electoral bodies now bear to participate effectively and transparently in selecting candidates capable of serving the country and advancing the citizen. He called on the members of the electoral bodies to interview their candidates and discuss their electoral programs, as well as giving priority to reason, logic and the public interest in determining their choices among the candidates.
His Excellency Dr. Anwar Gargash praised the response and positive interaction shown by the members of the electoral bodies through their turnout to submit candidacy applications during the five nomination days, which took place with an organized performance and high professionalism that ensured the success of the registration process without any problems or errors.
His Excellency Dr. Anwar Gargash indicated that the list of names announced today is not the approved and final list, as the names will be announced in a final list by the committee on August 31 after the end of the appeals period. His Excellency pointed out that each candidate will have his own number, which he can use in his advertising campaign and to inform voters about it.
The National Elections Committee had opened the door for candidacy during the period from 16 to 20 August in 9 centers in all emirates of the country through the Emirates Committees. The Elections Management Committee, which has spent the past five days reviewing and scrutinizing applications and ensuring that the constitutional conditions for candidacy are met, in addition to the requirements mentioned in the executive instructions for the 2015 elections.
Distribution of candidates
The number of candidates in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi reached 97, in the Emirate of Dubai 62 candidates, in the Emirate of Sharjah 65 candidates, and in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah 42 candidates, the Emirate of Ajman 23 candidates, the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain 20 candidates, and the Emirate of Fujairah 38 candidates.
presence of women
78 women applied for candidacy for membership of the Federal National Council, in Abu Dhabi 24 candidates, Dubai 22 candidates, Sharjah 13, Ras Al Khaimah 5 candidates, Ajman 4 candidates, Umm Al Quwain 3 candidates, and Fujairah 7 candidates.
Submit objection requests to the candidates
Starting from tomorrow, the National Elections Committee will open the door for submitting objection requests against candidates for members of electoral bodies for a period of (three) days, starting from Monday, corresponding to (24) August 2015 AD, until Wednesday, corresponding to (26) August 2015 AD.
Each member of the Electoral College in the Emirate may submit a request to challenge the candidacy of a candidate to the Emirate Committee to which he belongs according to the form prepared for that, during the period specified by the National Elections Commission (24-26 August 2015 AD), provided that the appeal is based on acceptable reasons. and accompanied by documents supporting his appeal. It is also required that an amount of (3000) dirhams be attached to the appeal application, which will be deposited as a guarantee with the National Elections Commission, provided that this amount is returned to the appealer if the decision is issued in his favor and confiscated if his appeal is rejected.
Deciding on appeals and objections
The appeals committee, which is a committee headed by a judge and with two members with experience and legal competence, will examine and examine the candidates’ appeals and submit reports of their legal opinion to the National Elections Commission to decide on them with decisions that have the force of final judgments.
The National Elections Committee will issue its decisions regarding appeals against the candidates on Thursday (27) August 2015 AD, and the decisions of the Supreme Elections Committee in this regard will be final (that is, they may not be appealed by any means of appeal). After that, the list of candidates for the final membership of the Federal National Council will be announced on Monday (31) August 2015.
The National Elections Committee calls on male and female candidates to abide by the dates of launching the electoral campaigns according to the schedule approved and announced by the National Elections Committee, and to adhere to the controls stipulated in the articles of the executive instructions, in order to produce the electoral process in a civilized and honorable manner befitting the reputation of the United Arab Emirates.