Yesterday, Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, the State Minister for FNC Affairs made a statement to the people of the United Arab Emirates regarding the amount of people allowed to vote as a part of the Electoral Colleges in September's Federal National Council elections.
According to Gargash, a decree made by President Khalifa in 2005 establishes a minimum number of people needed to be a legitimate election, which is at least 300 times the number of representatives. This decree, however, does not include a maximum amount of people that can be involved in the elections.
The program for politcal empowerment outlined by President Khalifa is meant to eventually allow every Emerati the right to be involved in the elections, whether as a voter or a candidate. This change is meant to be gradual, however, and even as the Electoral College gets to vote and decide on 20 of the 40 members of the FNC, the other 20 representatives are still chosen by the respective rulers of the Emirates.
What I found interesting about this article is that, on the surface, the UAE seems to be a fairly democratic country with plenty of voting rights, and for the most part, that is the case. Underneath that democratic exterior, however, it becomes apparent that when it comes to wielding the power in the UAE, the rulers of the Emirates are the ones in charge and calling the shots.
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