Social media is poised to play a central role in FNC election candidates’ campaigns this year.
Now that campaigning has begun, many have turned to Facebook and Twitter to gather followers. For some, this started weeks ago.
If candidates are not careful, however, they are likely to fall into the same trap as their counterparts during the 2011 elections.
A heavy reliance on social media meant that many neglected other forms of communication that can prove far more effective in a tribal community.
Hours after the election results were announced in 2011, Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for FNC Affairs and head of the National Election Committee, said traditional electioneering, not social media, had been the biggest factor in the results.
Interviews with winning candidates confirmed this.
Incumbent FNC member Gharib Al Saridi (Fujairah) said he relied on street posters and meeting people face-to-face - not Twitter or Facebook.
“I talked to the people in the villages and found out what were their main concerns and raised the issues as part of my campaign,” the 50-year-old said at the time.
”In our emirate, it is the face-to-face interactions that make a difference, not just posters or adverts like in other places.”
Others who relied little on social media and far more on traditional communication methods included the Al Ameri tribe winners in Abu Dhabi and the majority of winners from the Northern Emirates, including the only female who won an FNC seat in 2011, Dr Sheikha Al Ari, from Umm Al Quwain.
Dr Al Ari said she was well-known in her community which helped secure her winning place.
“My campaign began 25 years ago in my educational journey. I have dedication for work and love for the people. They have seen me and tried me. My journey in education gave them the ability to decide,” she said.
Many losing candidates in 2011 also spoke of their disappointment when they found that those who promised to vote for them on social media were nowhere to be seen on election day.
They admitted they needed to do more to reach out to the people and find their target audience.
Some said they had calculated the number of those who said they would give them their voice to be in the thousands but ended up with only double-figure votes.
This was due to some social media users making out that they were on the electoral roll but were, in fact, not eligible to vote, losing candidates claimed.
Conversations with losing candidates in 2011 also revealed frustration at their inability to reach out to eligible voters.
One said that with more youths among voters that year compared to previous years, he believed Twitter would be his answer to find them but he mistakenly then neglected all the important tribal leaders.
Social media also meant that candidates could keep a close eye on their rivals. Already, this year’s candidates can be seen following their rivals on Twitter, getting a heads-up on the competition before the race has even begun.
Although two major changes to this year’s election means more people than ever before are eligible to vote and each eligible voter can only vote for a single person, lessons from the last election need to be learnt.
While social media plays a crucial part in today’s communication, with only 21 days available for candidates to campaign, time cannot be wasted by focusing only on a single method of reaching out to voters.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
