United Arab Emirates

Federal National Council

Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Monarchy
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Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Unicameral
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IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
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Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections

Background

Election date(s) The date when elections started and ended for directly or indirectly elected parliaments/chambers. The date of appointments for appointed parliaments/chambers.
05.10.2019
Timing of election Timing of election: Upon normal expiry; Early elections; Delayed elections
Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections The expected date at which the next elections should take place, based on law or practice.
31.10.2023
Number of seats at stake Number of seats contested at the elections. Where the parliament/chamber is fully renewed, this number is usually identical to the statutory number of members. Where the parliament/chamber is partially renewed or appointed, the number of seats at stake is usually less than the total number of members.
20
Scope of elections Scope of elections: Full renewal; Partial renewal.
Full renewal

Candidates

Total number of candidates Total number of people who registered as candidates for election. Does not include people who stood as candidates to become "substitute members".
478
Number of male candidates Number of male candidates
303
Number of female candidates Number of female candidates
175
Percentage of women candidates The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women candidates by the total number of candidates.
36.61%

Voter turnout

Registration Number of people registered to vote
337,738
Votes Number of people who actually voted
117,592
Voter turnout The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of people who actually voted by the number of people registered to vote
34.82%

Results

About the election Short description of the context and results of the election.
The 2019 elections led to the first gender-parity parliament in the United Arab Emirates. A record seven women were among the 20 elected members in October and 13 other women were appointed by presidential decree on 11 November. The new 40-member Federal National Council thus comprises 20 women, up from nine in the outgoing legislature.

 

 The 2019 elections were the first to be held after President Sheikh Khalifa called for Emirati women to occupy 50 per cent of the Federal National Council starting from the upcoming elections. The directive was issued by the UAE Government Communication Office in December 2018. The size of the Electoral College (a body which elects half (20) of the members of the Federal National Council) remained small but increased from 224,279 in 2015 to 337,738 in 2019, of whom 34.81 per cent voted (down from 35.29% in 2015). Since there are no political parties in the UAE, all candidates ran as independents.
Alternation of power after elections The results of the elections caused a change in the government. "Not applicable" to countries using the presidential system when parliamentary and presidential elections are held separately, to countries in political transition or where there is no party system.
Not applicable
Note on the alternation of power
The monarchy.
Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
13
Number of women elected
7
Percentage of women elected The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women elected in the election and the number of seats at stake at the election.
35%
Sources
Federal National (23.10.2019, 12.11.2019)
 WAM news agency (https://www.wam.ae/en)
 BBC Monitoring
 gulfnews.com
 www.thenational.ae
Women Directly Elected
7
Women Appointed
13

New legislature

Total number of men after the election The total number of male parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
20
Total number of women after the election The total number of female parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
20
First-term parliamentarians The number of members who are assuming their parliamentary mandate for the first time following the election or renewal, regardless of their mode of designation.
36
Date of the first session The date when the newly elected parliament/chamber was convened for the first time. It may be different from the date when members were sworn in.
14.11.2019
First Speaker of the new legislature
First Speaker of the new legislature First name of the Speaker of the new legislature following the election or renewal.
Saqr Ghobash (Male)
Date of election
14.11.2019