ABU DHABI // The Federal National Council is quickly approaching the end of its session and the end of a four-year term for its members, meaning a new council will be formed this year.
At the end of June, the council will end its 15th legislative chapter. So the question becomes, when are the next elections?
For now, neither the Ministry of FNC Affairs nor the National Election Committee – both headed by Dr Anwar Gargash – has announced an election date.
Other than confirming that they will be held this year, it is hard to guess when that might be, when candidates can register to run, or how much campaigning time they will have.
In 2006, following constitutional amendments made by the President, Sheikh Khalifa, allowing for the election of half the 40-member council, polls were held in December.
Little media coverage of the 2006 elections exists. The National was not launched until two years later.
What is known is that 6,000 Emiratis were eligible to vote, and of those, 456 ran for a seat on the council. Turnout was 74.4 per cent, which was considered good, especially for the country’s first elections.
In 2011, elections were held at the end of September. The announcement of the electoral college, which listed the names of 130,000 Emiratis eligible to vote, was released in July. Less than two months later, eligible individuals had to decide whether to run.
Campaigning began on September 4 and ended 48 hours before election day, September 24. Not long after, appointees were announced and the FNC was called into session by the President.
It is likely that elections this year will be similar, but history is not a good guide.
In 2011, candidates complained they had insufficient time to plan their campaigns because of the proximity to Ramadan. They also thought the campaigning period was too short.
These criticisms could mean a longer campaigning period this year, or that elections will be held at a different time.
The sooner the announcement is made, the sooner Emiratis can build a momentum for this year’s campaign, which officials have predicted will be the biggest the country has seen.
osalem@thenational.ae