2015 Emirati parliamentary election
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Parliamentary elections were held in the United Arab Emirates on 3 October 2015 to elect the half of the members of the 15th Chapter of the Federal National Council, and appoint the other half of the members.[1]
Electoral system
At the time of the elections the 40-member Federal National Council had 20 indirectly-elected members and 20 appointed members. The 20 elected members were elected by seven electoral colleges; the colleges of Abu Dhabi and Dubai elected four members, the colleges of Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah elected three, and the colleges of Ajman, Fujairah and Umm al-Quwain elected two.[2] Only around a third of Emirati citizens (who themselves are around 12% of the country's population) were members of the electoral colleges.[3]
Following changes to the electoral system, the elections were held using single non-transferable vote, meaning voters could only vote for one candidate in their emirate, irrespective of the number of seats.[2] Overseas voting was allowed for the first time.[4]
Campaign
A total of 330 candidates contested the elections, of which 252 were men and 78 women.[5] Campaigning was allowed between 6 and 30 September.[6]
Results
Of the twenty elected members, 19 were men and one a woman,[7] Naama Al Sharhan, who was elected in Ras al-Khaimah. Voter turnout was 35%, up from 26% in the 2011 elections, and ranged from 70% in Umm al-Quwain to 22.1% in Dubai.[8]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independents | 20 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | – | – | |
| Total | 79,157 | 20 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 224,279 | 35.29 | – |
| Source: IPU | |||
Elected members
| Emirate | Elected members | Votes received |
|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi | Khalifa al-Mazrouei | 2,167 |
| Mattar al-Shamsi | 1,634 | |
| Saeed al-Remeithi | 1,597 | |
| Saleh al-Ameri | 1,382 | |
| Ajman | Hamad al-Ghafli | 723 |
| Salem Abdullah al-Shamsi | 458 | |
| Dubai | Hamad al-Rahoomi | 2,076 |
| Marwan bin Ghalita | 961 | |
| Khalid al-Falasi | 722 | |
| Jamal al-Hai | 672 | |
| Fujairah | Mohammed al-Yammahi | 912 |
| Ahmed al-Hamoudi | 546 | |
| Ras al-Khaimah | Salem al-Shehhi | 2,037 |
| Ahmed al-Nuaimi | 1,358 | |
| Naama al-Sharhan | 1,004 | |
| Sharjah | Jasim al-Naqbi | 787 |
| Salem al-Shamsi | 644 | |
| Mohammed al-Katbi | 519 | |
| Umm al-Quwain | Khalfan al-Ali | 381 |
| Obaid al-Ali | 372 | |
| Source: The National | ||
References
- ^ UAE set for FNC election Khaleej Times, 2 October 2015
- ^ a b Electoral system IPU
- ^ Voting is a privilege that I intend to exercise wisely The National, 1 October 2015
- ^ Last elections IPU
- ^ Breakdown: 2015 FNC election results The National, 5 October 2015
- ^ When and how FNC elections will be held Emirates 24/7, 5 June 2015
- ^ Last elections IPU
- ^ National Elections Committee: voter turnout reasonable considering ‘lack of pressure’ in UAE The National, 4 October 2015
