The maximum spending of the Federal National Council (FNC) candidates, scheduled for October 5, will reach AED 958 million, covering a total of 479 campaigns across the UAE. With the number of candidates who reached 125 candidates, they can spend 250 million dirhams, while the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain ranked last for advertising expenditures, which will not exceed 38 million dirhams distributed among 19 candidates.
The National Election Commission warned all candidates against any excess of the advertising spending ceiling, set at two million dirhams for each candidate, stressing that it has seven types of sanctions to deter electoral irregularities, while the election management committees and intelligent systems have finished all the logistical and technical equipment of the electoral process outside and inside the country, including Ensures that voting is carried out to the highest standards and with the highest levels of accuracy, integrity and transparency.
In detail, 479 female candidates and candidates for the FNC elections are continuing their campaigning campaigns for the ninth day in a row to promote their programs and the issues they pledge to adopt under the dome of the Council if elected. After the withdrawal of 16 candidates from the electoral race, and the adoption of the final lists of candidates.
The National Election Commission has set in the executive instructions a maximum of two million dirhams for the propaganda campaign for each candidate, stressing that the committees of the UAE and the Electoral Management Committee, closely follow the spending rates of all candidates, to monitor any violations and violations.
According to statistics conducted by «Emirates Today», the Emirate of Abu Dhabi tops the list of "highest spending" according to the maximum available for each candidate, where the number of candidates of the Emirate of 125 candidates and candidates, they may spend 250 million dirhams, an average of two million dirhams per member, followed by the Emirate of Sharjah, which arrives It has 109 candidates, who can spend 218 million dirhams, then the emirate of Dubai, which has 86 candidates, can spend 172 million dirhams.
The emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is ranked fourth in terms of total advertising expenditures legally, with 61 candidates, who can spend 122 million dirhams, then the Emirate of Fujairah, which includes 53 candidates, can spend 106 million dirhams, followed by the Emirate of Ajman, which registered 26 A candidate can spend 52 million dirhams, and finally the emirate of Umm Al Quwain, which has 19 candidates, can spend 38 million dirhams on election campaigns.
According to the executive instructions of the elections, the National Elections Commission is competent to consider all irregularities that impede the conduct of elections or disrupt the application of the instructions issued thereto. The committee has the right to impose seven types of sanctions according to the type and degree of the violation, starting with the warning of the member of the electoral commission to be excluded, whether from the lists of electoral bodies. Or from the lists of candidates in the original or by-elections, or to oblige the candidate or the voter to hand over any amounts obtained to the National Committee other than those stated in these instructions.
The list of seven penalties also included the obligation of the candidate to remove irregularities related to electoral propaganda, repair any damages arising from it at his own expense, oblige the candidate to pay a fine not exceeding 5000 dirhams, cancel the license for electoral advertising granted to the candidate, and exclude any of the names on the lists of bodies The electoral results or the lists of candidates, even if these lists are final, and finally cancel the election result of the candidate in the Emirate.
The executive instructions stated that the National Elections Commission has the right to take any other measures necessary to face all irregularities, which disturb the functioning and success of the electoral process in all its aspects.
On the other hand, the Electoral Management Committee and the Intelligent Systems Committee held a meeting yesterday to review the latest developments related to the electoral process, in order to ensure the implementation of an electoral process according to the highest standards and the highest levels of accuracy, integrity and transparency.
The meeting, which included representatives of the working groups of the two committees, also reviewed the electoral management plan and completion rates, the work plan for the equipping of electoral centers, the business continuity plan, the system of voting outside the country, the plan of work in diplomatic missions, the plan of preparation and experimentation of the voting process, and the plan of distributing voting machines. In the electoral centers, the preparations of the heads of the electoral centers and their deputies, the updates of the training of the work teams of the electoral centers, the active role of volunteers in the organization and success of the electoral process, and other ongoing preparations for the elections.
Tariq Hilal Lootah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs and member of the National Elections Committee, said: “The concerted efforts of the various task forces involved in organizing the electoral process to achieve the electoral eligibility according to the highest standards contribute to the active participation of the voters. Elections, in the selection of representatives to the Federal National Council, and reflected positively on the role of the leadership of the Council in promoting the overall development process pursued by the UAE, and upgrade all sectors of society ».
Lootah said that the high level of coordination between the various committees and working groups of the FNC elections 2019, establishes a smooth, transparent and fair electoral process that achieves its goals in completing the steps of the political empowerment program, launched by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, in 2005. In addition to promoting the political development process and consolidating the role of citizens in active participation in the decision-making process.
Lootah stressed that the qualitative completion rates in the technical, logistical and human preparations for the electoral process, highlight the great efforts made by the teams of the elections of the National Assembly 2019, to achieve the success of the electoral process in its fourth session, as it reflects the magnitude of the commitment of the task forces to accomplish tasks according to the highest performance rates, in line with The aspirations of the wise leadership and record new successes of the parliamentary work in the UAE keep pace with the successes achieved by the UAE in all fields.
The meeting comes within the framework of a series of steps and final logistical preparations, to provide the various requirements of 39 electoral centers inside the country, and 118 centers outside, in preparation for the start of voting operations outside the country, and early voting to be held in nine centers in various emirates of the UAE, the activities of the Presidential election day and the following The procedures of counting votes and announcing the winners, according to the timetable previously announced by the National Elections Commission.
Monitoring and monitoring are ongoing
The National Election Commission (NEC) has confirmed that it is working on continuous monitoring and follow-up of all propaganda campaigns, calling on all candidates to abide by the executive instructions of the FNC elections 2019, and to work in accordance with the rules and conditions governing the work of propaganda campaigns and electoral programs for candidates, which have been approved by the committees of the UAE. Carrying out activities not approved in the electoral programs, indicating that this is a legal offense, which may amount to canceling the candidacy application, and preventing the candidate from continuing his electoral program.