The National Elections Commission has put in place strict regulations and penalties to ensure that electoral irregularities are avoided

24 August 2011

Emirates committees will work to monitor any violations by candidates or voters

The National Elections Committee confirmed that it has put in place systems and penalties to ensure the avoidance of electoral violations that can be committed by either voters or candidates during the electoral process, and has defined the legal rules that ensure holding violators accountable, as the penalties in some cases reach depriving the voter from voting outright, and canceling the candidacy If the violation was committed by one of the candidates.

The National Elections Committee entrusted the committee of each emirate with monitoring any electoral violations that may be committed by one of them, and submitting reports and observations in this regard to the Elections Management Committee, which shall submit them to the National Elections Committee to take the appropriate action in this regard.

His Excellency Tariq Hilal Lootah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs, member of the National Elections Committee and Chairman of the Election Management Committee, said: “The National Elections Committee is keen to implement the electoral process in all its stages with integrity and transparency, so it has adopted some general principles established in the elections, foremost among them Develop systems to ensure the avoidance of electoral violations that may be committed, whether by voters or candidates, and establish legal rules that ensure holding violators accountable.

He added, "The executive instructions issued by the National Elections Committee identified a number of violations that voters may commit, and specified the penalties that can be imposed on them.

It is completely clear to the candidates, voters, and those in charge of monitoring it from the Emirates committees, and to ensure that it is not done by anyone, and we in the Emirati society, thank God, have social values and principles that reject such behavior, but the committee decided to give this matter the necessary importance so that any matter is dealt with Something out of the ordinary."

He said, "We will work to verify any violations that are reported by legal means, and based on clear evidence that proves the violation was committed."

The executive instructions for the elections specified the violations that the voters might commit by: disrupting the conduct of the electoral process, disrupting the implementation of the executive instructions for the elections, or hindering other voters from exercising their electoral right, carrying out electoral campaigning for any of the candidates inside the polling center, promising to vote for any of the candidates in exchange for obtaining a vote. Material or in-kind benefit, attempt to influence the vote of other voters, failure to deal with polling center officials with due respect, or failure to implement their instructions with the required accuracy.

And in the event that any of the previous acts were committed by the voters, the National Elections Committee may delete his name from the electoral list of the emirate to which he belongs, which will result in definitively depriving him of the right to vote in the elections, in addition to the civil and criminal liability to which he may be subject.

With regard to the violations that the candidates may commit, including non-observance of the values and principles of the UAE society in the electoral campaign, non-compliance with the applicable systems and regulations, or lack of respect for public order and public morals, the electoral campaign includes ideas that call for provoking religious, sectarian, tribal or ethnic intolerance towards others. Receiving any money or donations from foreign persons or entities, or not disclosing the sources of financing his electoral campaign, or not submitting statements of the money he receives to the Emirate Committee on an up-to-date basis, or not handing over to the National Elections Committee the sums he gets other than what is stated in the executive instructions for elections.

The candidates’ violations also included offering or promising to provide any in-kind gifts or sums of money to voters in exchange for voting, failure to remove violations related to electoral campaigning and repairing the damages arising from it at his own expense, failure to remove all aspects of his media campaign within a week of announcing the final results of the elections, and carrying out any electoral campaigning. Involving deceiving or fraudulent voters, using a method of defamation or defamation of other candidates in his electoral campaign, placing posters, billboards or promotional pictures in places other than those specified by the Emirate Committee, spending on the electoral campaign from public funds or from the budget of ministries or institutions companies or public bodies.

In the event that the candidate commits any of these violations or commits in general any act that would disrupt the conduct of the electoral process or obstruct the implementation of the instructions issued in this regard or impede the voters from exercising their electoral right, he shall be deemed to have committed an electoral violation, which allows the National Elections Committee to impose on him the appropriate penalty for the type of election. The penalty, which amounts to canceling the candidacy, and the list of penalties includes withdrawing the license granted to the candidate to carry out electoral campaigning, and obliging him to pay financial fines not exceeding five thousand dirhams.

The National Elections Committee called on all voters and candidates to adhere to the executive instructions for the elections and not to violate them. Ensure that he does not violate any system or instructions.

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