At stake in this election:

• 20 seats in the Federal National Council (Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President KHALIFA bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister MUHAMMAD bin Rashid al-Maktum
• Assembly: United Arab Emirates has a unicameral Federal National Council (Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani) with 40 seats.

* The president is elected by indirect vote by and from the Federal Supreme Council (FSC), which is composed of the seven emirate rulers, to serve 5-year terms. There are no term limits for the president.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is appointed by hereditary state rulers.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
• In the Federal National Council (Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani), 20 members are appointed to serve 2-year terms and 20 members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve 2-year terms.***

*** 20 members are appointed by the rulers of the constituent emirates and 20 members are elected by indirect vote through local councils. All members serve 2-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Independent(s): Independents
  • Leader: N/A

Last Legislative election:

• This is only the second election in the UAE. The first elections for the FNC were held in 2006 with 6,600 voters, including 1,160 women. The electoral college has since been expanded to 129,274 voters.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 5,148,664 (July 2011 est)
• Registered Voters: 129,274 (September 2011 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,204,560 (2011)

·         Is United Arab Emirates a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has United Arab Emirates ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (6 October 2004)

·         Gender Quota: 

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 9 (following the 2006 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 41 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is United Arab Emirates a signatory to CRPD: Yes (8 February 2008)

·         Has United Arab Emirates ratified CRPD: Yes (19 March 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 772,299 (est.)