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29 March 2024

FNC candidates warned against cheating

Published
By Staff

Candidates in this year’s election for the Federal National Council (FNC) must avoid propaganda in their campaigns involving any act of cheating or defamation against others, a UAE official was reported on Tuesday as saying.

Emiratis running in the election for half the FNC’s 40 members can harness all media organs in their campaigns but they must use their own financial resources to fund their drives and avoid any propaganda at public establishments, said Tariq Hilal Lootah, undersecretary of the ministry of state for FNC affairs.

Quoted by the Arabic language daily Alkhaleej, he said all candidates must respect regulations in their run-up campaign for September 4-21 election, including preserving local social tradition and values.

“All candidates are not allowed to indulge in a campaign or propaganda that involves cheating voters..…they also must not resort to defaming or hurting others in their election campaigns,” he said.

“The candidates should also use their own financial resources and avoid using public funds or corporate budgets to spend on their campaigns….the rules also ban using public establishments to stage such campaigns.

A total of 129,274 Emiratis will be eligible to vote in this year’s FNC elections, far more than the 6,595 who qualified five years ago.

Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs and chairman of the electoral committee, had previously estimated the voter pool at 80,000 people.

He said this week that the increase underlines "the commitment of the UAE and its leadership to further promoting political participation."

According to the election committee, the voter rolls will comprise 47,444 members from Abu Dhabi, 37,514 from Dubai, 16,850 from Ras al Khaimah, 13,937 from Sharjah, 6,324 from Fujairah, 3,920 from Ajman and 3,285 from Umm al Qaiwain. The campaign will run between September 4 and 21, concluding with election day, scheduled for September 24. Results are expected the same day.

“We call on all candidates to respect election rules and avert any ideas that will incite religious, tribal or ethnic fanaticism against others….they can organize their campaigns at all audio-visual media organs and hold seminars and press conferences in line with the regulations defined by the election committee,” Lootah said.