United Arab Emirates

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.

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05 Oct 2019

Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature

Date at which the previous legislature (elected at the previous elections) was dissolved.

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No information available

Timing of election

Timing of election: Upon normal expiry; Early elections; Delayed elections

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Upon normal expiry

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.

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20

Scope of elections

Scope of elections: Full renewal; Partial renewal.

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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".

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478

Number of male candidates

Number of male candidates

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303

Number of female candidates

Number of female candidates

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175

Percentage of women candidates

The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women candidates by the total number of candidates.

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36.6%

Voter turnout

Registered voters

Number of people registered to vote

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337,738

Voters

Number of people who actually voted

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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

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34.8%

Results

About the election

Short description of the context and results of the election.

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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.

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No

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 by the number of seats filled.

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35.0%

Women Directly Elected

7

Women Appointed

13

Sources

Federal National (23.10.2019, 12.11.2019)

WAM news agency (https://www.wam.ae/en)

BBC Monitoring

gulfnews.com

www.thenational.ae

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.

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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.

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20

Percentage of women after the election

The percentage is calculated by dividing the total number of women in this parliament/chamber by the current number of members.

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50.0%

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.

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36

Percentage of first-term parliamentarians

The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of first-term parliamentarians by the number of seats at stake in the election.

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90.0%

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.

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14 Nov 2019

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature

Saqr Ghobash (Male)
Date of birth: 19 Sep 1952

Date of election

The date of the election of the Speaker may be different from the date of the first session of the new legislature.

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14 Nov 2019