Free Republic

First day ends in UAE elections Only 1% of citizens will be allowed to vote Polling has ended on the first day of landmark national elections in the United Arab Emirates, in which under 1% of citizens are allowed to vote.Voters hand-picked by the government are choosing half of the Federal National Council, an advisory body. Voting began in two of the UAE's seven emirates, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah. Other emirates vote during the coming week. Early results confirmed a woman, Amal Abdullah al-Kubaissi, as the winner of one of four seats in Abu Dhabi. "This is an honour...

The United Arab Emirates will hold its first limited elections for half of its consultative National Council, part of a move towards reform, the Gulf Arab country's president said on Thursday. "In light of the changes and reforms our region is witnessing ... we decided to begin activating the National Assembly by electing half of its members," Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nayahan said in a speech to mark the UAE's national day. The speech, carried on state news agency WAM, gave no date for the election to the council, whose 40 members are currently all appointed by the seven semi-autonomous emirates...