UAE voters cast ballots in first, partial polls

ABU DHABI, Dec 16 (Reuters) Hand-picked voters cast ballots in the United Arab Emirates' first elections today to choose half the members of a powerless advisory assembly for the Gulf Arab oil exporting nation.

Rulers of the seven emirates in the UAE federation have selected 6,689 voters, just under one per cent of the 800,000-strong native population, to select 20 members of the Federal National Council (FNC) from 439 men and woman, while the rest of the representatives will be appointed.

''It's a first step, it's a small step but a significant and historic step,'' Anwar Gargash, minister of state for the FNC, told a news conference. ''This is a platform we will build on to hold general elections.'' If the partial vote is considered successful, all nationals of the 35-year-old UAE federation will be allowed to vote in 2010, but political parties are widely expected to remain banned in the traditionalist country.

''We will represent those who cannot vote, hoping that the next time everyone will be able to vote. This is a pilot programme,'' said candidate and voter Ahmed Shabeeb al-Dhaheri.

Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said in remarks published today the FNC would be a ''true representative of the people''.

Dhaheri, an appointed member of the previous FNC, was the first to cast a ballot in an Abu Dhabi stadium decorated with pictures of 99 candidates vying for Abu Dhabi's four seats.

A steady flow of voters were choosing their preferred candidates by touching a computer screen in the e-vote before casting computer-generated red ballots in boxes as a backup.

''In the morning I was excited and came to vote ... The time is right now after 35 years,'' Dhaheri said.

Political scientist Abdul-Khaleq Abdullah has described the process as a ''modest and late step but an important one'', which he hoped would convince the government that elections are not a gateway to trouble.

WOMEN GUARANTEED Polls also began in Fujairah where 35 candidates are contesting two seats, while voters in the five other emirates, including the booming regional trade hub Dubai, will cast their ballots on Monday and Wednesday.

About 14 per cent of the candidates are women, but there is no quota ensuring a minimum number of women reach the FNC.

Election officials say women will be appointed to the advisory body, even if they fail to win any seats through the vote.

''I feel very happy today; this is (like) an electoral wedding. I hope that through the elections some women will get into the council,'' said Fatma Hamad al-Mazrooei, an assistant professor.

''Most of my votes were for women. I judge by the political programmes but I think women have good programmes,'' she added.

There are already two female cabinet ministers in the UAE, the only Gulf Arab state with no elected political body. Its Arab neighbours, though still ruled by dynasties, have all had polls of some kind.

Kuwait, the only Gulf Arab state with a parliament that has a say in state affairs, allowed women to run in parliamentary elections for the first time in June.

Diplomats and analysts say affluence from high oil income has helped the government steer the country without turbulence.

Bahrain revived its parliament in 2002 after years of demonstrations and unrest but created an appointed body that shares the house's legislative rights.

REUTERS MS HS1430