Since there are no political parties in the UAE, all candidates ran as independents. During election campaigning, many candidates focused on social issues, promising to provide better housing and more health services. Others focused on job creation and better educational services. 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 129,274 in 2011 to 224,279 in 2015. The government described the move as the leadership's willingness to "enable citizens to participate actively in the process of political development". Turnout increased from 27.25% to 35.29%. As in the 2011 elections, one woman was among the 20 winners. On 18 November, the newly elected members were sworn in alongside the 20 appointed members, including eight women.

The 2015 elections used a single-vote system (meaning each voter voted for only one candidate in his/her emirate). Previously, voters were allowed to vote for as many as half the number of seats from their respective emirates. Eligible voters outside the country were allowed to vote for the first time in 2015.