ABU DHABI - Nineteen male candidates and one female candidate have won the Federal National Council (FNC) election which staged today across the Emirates, Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs and Chairman of the National Election Committee (NEC), said.Announcing the initial official results of the polls at a press conference here, Dr. Gargash said that 36,277 voters of the total members of the electoral colleges of about 130,000 had cast their ballots in today’s elections.
“These votes accounted for 28 per cent of the total number of voters. The participation was good though we hoped for a broader one ,”he noted, calling for taking ample time for analysing factors behind the low voter turn out.
He said the NEC would raise an inclusive report to the Federal Cabinet about the positives and negatives of the elections especially the technical glitch that occurred at Al Ain Polling station which delayed announcement of results in Abu Dhabi until about 11:00 pm.
Gargash said that he wished that women candidates who contested the polls with experience and rationality would have won.
“Despite all of that, the UAE has presented a new transparent experiment in the electoral process whose preparations had taken six months. The experiment has deepened the participation in the empowerment programme given the awareness of voters of its significance and dimensions,’ he added.
The NEC, he said, would examine irregularities, if any, on 28 September 2011.
