Small steps forward in elections for UAE’s ‘gradualist’ democracy

A disappointed candidate in Dubai registered an appeal against the results of the third Federal National Council (FNC) elections, held on 3 October; one candidate, Abdelaziz Al-Shehhi in Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK), died of a heart attack; and there was some concern that only one woman was elected out of 78 female candidates. But, overall, voting was declared above-board in the first election in which half of the FNC’s 40 members were elected (by an enlarged electoral college, chosen by the authorities), and there were 330 candidates.