UAE People & Politics: FNC members with ‘unfinished business’ run for re-election

On the first day of FNC candidate registration last Sunday, at least four FNC members signed up again — around 10 per cent of council members.

Hamad Al Rahoomi registers to be an FNC candidate at the World Trade Centre in Dubai. Sarah Dea / The National

This week, a number of Federal National Council members revealed their desire to serve for another four-year term.

On the first day of FNC candidate registration last Sunday, at least four members signed up again – 10 per cent of members. During the 2011 elections, only one member, Rashid Al Marar, stood again for election. He did not win.

Thursday was the final day to register, and a final list of candidates will be released on August 27.

Although the final list is yet to be made public, Dr Sheikha Al Ari and Obaid Rekad from Umm Al Quwain have announced their candidacy, as has Hamad Al Rahoomi in Dubai and Mosabeh Al Kitbi from Sharjah.

Meanwhile in Al Ain, Musallam, the brother of current FNC member Dr Mohammed bin Ham, hopes he can take his sibling’s seat on the council.

Their reasons for running have all been similar. Their candidacy comes at the request of people in their emirate, they say, and to fulfil a desire to continue to serve the country.

Mr Al Kitbi also added that he wanted to return to the council to finish the work he had started and was unable to finish after being tied down by government and council bureaucracy.

“I want to repeat the experience since I have some matters I had not yet finished in my last term,” he said after submitting his registration papers.

Topics include comprehensive health insurance for Emiratis, early retirement for women, and an increase in salaries.

He said that his parliamentary work has been recognised both locally and internationally.

Similarly, Mr Al Rahoomi has a number of pending topics he still wishes to debate.

Of the four members, Mr Al Rahoomi and Mr Al Kitbi have been the most vocal during the last four year term, taking up many topics to the floor for debate – some have even raised a few eyebrows, notably a debate on faith healing to eliminate sorcery.

But the duo have been admired for their confident approach in addressing federal ministers, consistently making stands in the council and hitting the headlines.

However, it did come as a surprise that Mr Rekad entered his name again in the elections due his reserved nature on the council. And although Dr Al Ari has strong views on education, being a former school principal, she has been overshadowed by other members in the male dominated council.

While Ali Jassim, the longest-serving member on the FNC, supports the re-election of former members, he hopes those who were inactive on the council are not given a second chance to take office.

“Any member should evaluate themselves before they decide to run in the elections,” he said. “If they left a stamp in the last term, then they are most welcome. But if they did not have a role then I personally would not accept them to be a guest and take the place of others.”

This year, the electorate has increased by more than 68 per cent to give 224,279 Emiratis voting rights and with the introduction of the one-vote-per-person rule, it is hard to predict which members will win back their seats on the council.

While Mr Al Rahoomi and Mr Al Kitbi can rely on their credentials from the last council term, other members have significant numbers of followers in their hometowns.

Despite some criticisms of the limited powers of the FNC, the repeat candidacy of a number of members has proven their confidence in the council’s effectiveness and its important role in the decision making process in the country.