National "off-state" elections begin in New Zealand and end in Los Angeles

The New Zealand capital Wellington is set to begin voting in the Federal National Council (FNC) elections for members of local and foreign constituencies scheduled for September 22-23, with Los Angeles as the last electoral district, according to world time difference.

The National Election Commission said that the polling process within the headquarters of the embassies and consulates of the state will be conducted by hand, not electronic, while the total votes will be sorted on the electronic system on the day of the presidential election (5 October) at the headquarters of the elections in Abu Dhabi.

The State adopted the system of voting abroad for the first time in the elections of the Federal National Council 2015, in order to allow members of electoral bodies who impose their work, study or other reasons to exist outside the State to exercise their right to vote, which is a right for all. To the members of the Council, who will be the mouthpiece and voice of the transfer of their issues and discuss, and works to find appropriate solutions to them.

And in detail, will begin on the 22nd of September the first rounds of the Federal National Council elections 2019, open the door to vote for citizens outside the state, and the headquarters of embassies and consulates deployed around the world, over two days.

The UAE has diplomatic relations with 192 countries, with 84 embassies and 20 consulates in addition to four permanent missions.

According to international time differences, the voting process begins officially for citizens abroad, at the Embassy of the United States in Wellington, New Zealand, followed by the UAE Embassies in Canberra, Australia, and Tokyo, Japan, and the vote in the UAE Consulate in Los Angeles.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation published an explanatory video through its official Twitter account stating that citizens of electoral bodies outside the state are entitled to cast their votes at the polling stations at embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions abroad on Sunday and Monday (22 and 23 September 2019) .

"According to the international longitude, the election process starts from New Zealand as the first populated area, followed by Australia and then Japan, where the time difference between New Zealand and the UAE is about eight hours," said Ibrahim Al-Jarwan, member of the Arab Federation for Space and Astronomy Sciences. , And ends today in the last populated area, the city of Los Angeles, the United States, which has a difference of time between them and the UAE for about 11 hours ».

The NEC said that the voting process is the spirit of the electoral process, and therefore it takes place in the electoral centers and in the places determined by the National Elections Committee, whether inside or outside the state, so that the members of the electoral body cast their votes, The right to vote by himself, to consider that the right to vote is a personal right for each member of the electoral bodies, he may not appoint others in the exercise on his behalf.

The committee confirmed that the voter will be able to cast his vote only after verification of his identity through ID card issued by the Federal Authority for Identity and Nationality only, which must be attended by him to the polling center to see it.

The executive regulations for the elections allowed the voter "voter" outside the country as of September 22 to vote in the elections of the Federal National Council 2019 in the polling stations to be held at the embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions of the state abroad, which will be held on Sunday And the two (22 and 23 September).

According to the instructions, voting outside the country will be carried out by means of a system of manual voting «ie through the use of ballots», in the electoral centers located in embassies and consulates abroad.

During the electoral process, the ambassador, consul or his representative shall assume the functions of chairing the electoral center within the embassy or consulate of the country abroad, ensuring that all necessary technical and organizational procedures are in place in the voting system adopted prior to the start of the election process.

The executive instructions confirmed that the voting process abroad will begin at 8 am (local time of the country in which the embassy is located). The ballot will end at 8:00 pm on the same day, indicating that the voting process may continue after 8:00 pm, In the electoral hall did not vote, until they are completed, and then announce the head of the Committee of the embassy or consulate ends the election process.

The instructions explained that «after the closing of the ballot at the embassy or consulate, the chairman of the committee sends the minutes of the end of the election process and the closure of the electoral center to the election management committee after signing it, in addition to all the records, documents and papers and the covenant that was used in the electoral process, The vote counting committee who cast their votes from abroad on the election day the president scheduled on the fifth of next October, according to the system of electronic screening ».

94 polling stations abroad in the 2015 elections

The United Arab Emirates embassies and diplomatic missions throughout the world witnessed a remarkable turnout during the FNC 2015, where they were fully equipped and provided with all means to enable voters to vote in the election of their representatives from the FNC.

The 2015 elections saw the voting outside the country in 94 electoral centers, distributed in embassies and diplomatic missions in most countries of the world, which voted 1378 voters.

The National Elections Commission shall take all necessary measures to ensure that voting in the electoral centers in most countries of the world is organized according to the highest standards of accuracy, transparency and integrity to vote in embassies and diplomatic missions to enable members of electoral bodies, wherever they may be, to exercise their electoral rights and participate in the elections.

The previous participation of citizens abroad effectively in the electoral process is a natural reflection of the social awareness of all members of society in the importance of the National Council, and the great role it plays in expressing their issues, conveying their voices and demands and discussing them for appropriate solutions.

Members of electoral bodies can find out more information and find out the addresses of diplomatic missions abroad by visiting the State Department's website and the NEC website.