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UAE heads for poll booths

Dubai - Arrangements are complete at polling stations for a smooth process of electing 20 members from among hundreds of candidates.

Another big day in the UAE's democratic progress is finally here. The Federal National Council (FNC) elections kick off today with 186,616 out of a total electoral college of 224,279 voters across the seven emirates expected to cast their ballots.
Arrangements are complete at polling stations for a smooth process of electing 20 members from among hundreds of candidates.
A total of 37,663 people have already cast their votes in the three-day early polls that took place at nine electoral centres from September 28 to 30. These also included 1,389 eligible Emirati nationals who participated in the elections at 94 polling stations at the UAE embassies and diplomatic missions abroad.
Tareq Hilal Lootah, Undersecretary at the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs and head of the elections management committee, said on Friday well-trained staff have been posted at all the polling stations.
"The 36 polling centres are all geared up to receive the remaining voters who have not cast their votes in the early elections."
Up to 52 per cent of the 224,279 electoral college are men and 48 are women, he added. "These include 90,408 in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, 53,568 in Dubai, 31,766 in Sharjah, 6,090 in Ajman, 4,105 in Umm Al Quwain, 27,455 in Ras Al Khaimah, and 10,887 in Fujairah."
Lootah said the Emirates ID is the only verification certificate accepted for voting, without which the voters will not be able to cast their votes. "The National Election Committee (NEC) urges all voters to check if they are eligible for voting at the committee website (www.uaenec.ae) or call (600500005)."
Every voter can electronically cast his or her vote either by directly typing the electoral number of his or her favourite candidate or by pressing the photo of the same, he explained.
"As soon as a voter casts his or her vote, a new window will pop on the screen asking them to confirm their choice. The voters will still have an option of changing the candidate. Once they confirm their selected candidate, they will be able to retrieve their Emirates ID card," he said, pinpointing that a training video on the right voting procedures is online at the NEC website.
Official figures show that the final list of FNC voters includes 330 hopefuls, including 256 men and 74 women. Out of these are 89 in Abu Dhabi, 60 in Dubai, 61 in Sharjah, 41 in Ras Al Khaimah, 36 in Fujairah, 23 in Ajman, and 20 in Umm Al Quwain.
"The 36 polling stations include 11 in Abu Dhabi, six in Dubai, seven in Sharjah, two in Ajman, two in Umm Al Quwain, five in Ras Al Khaimah, and three in Fujairah," Lootah explained.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com