2019 Emirati parliamentary election

The 40-member Federal National Council consists of 20 indirectly-elected members and 20 appointed members. The 20 elected members were elected by single non-transferable vote in seven electoral colleges based on the emirates: the colleges of Abu Dhabi and Dubai elects four members each, the colleges of Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah three each, and the colleges of Ajman, Fujairah and Umm al-Quwain two each.[2] Voters can vote for only one candidate in their emirate.[3] In December 2018 President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a directive that half the members of the Council should be women.[4]

Under the constitution of the United Arab Emirates, "each emirate shall be free to determine the method of selecting the citizens representing it in the Federal National Council". The rulers of each emirate decides who will be able to vote;[5] the total number of voters has increased at each election, with an objective that all citizens will be able to vote in the future.[6]

On election day, 39 voting centers were opened in the UAE, nine of which had been open for early voting on 1–3 October. Overseas voters were able to vote in UAE embassies on 22–23 September.[7]

A total of 479 candidates contested the elections.[8] As there were no political parties at the time of the elections, all candidates ran as independents.

A total of 117,592 voters voted, giving a voter turnout of 34.81%. The number of votes cast increased by 48.5% compared to the 2015 elections.[9]

Seven of the 20 elected members were women,[10] although the sole incumbent elected female MP Naama al-Sharhan failed to win re-election in Ras al-Khaimah.[11] As such, 13 of the 20 appointed members were women in order to achieve gender parity.[10]