Federal National Council
The Federal National Council (FNC) (Arabic: المجلس الوطني الإتحادي, al-Majlis al-Watani al-Ittihadi) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an advisory quasi-parliamentary body in the UAE. The FNC consists of 40 members. Twenty of the members are indirectly elected by the hand-picked 33% of Emirati citizens who have voting rights through an electoral college, while the other twenty are appointed by the rulers of each emirate. According to Reuters, "the process of selecting the people who can either elect or be elected is opaque."
Federal National Council المجلس الوطني الاتحادي | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Unicameral |
| History | |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Leadership | |
Speaker | Saqr Ghobash since 14 November 2019 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 40 |
Political groups | Independent (40) |
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| Indirect single non-transferable vote in seven electoral colleges (20 seats) Appointed by rulers of each emirate (20 seats) | |
Last election | 7 October 2023 |
Next election | 7 October 2027 |
| Website | |
| www | |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of the United Arab Emirates |
|---|
| United Arab Emirates portal |
The first election for half the members of the FNC took place in 2006. Members of the FNC serve 4-year terms. The last election for the indirectly elected members took place on 7 October 2023, and the next election is to be held in October 2027. The FNC assembly hall is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.
The National Election Committee (NEC) was established in February 2011 by the UAE Federal Supreme Council, and is chaired by the Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs. Elections are conducted by the NEC which nominates members of the electoral college. Any citizen can be selected as a member. The NEC also manages the election of FNC representatives from all the emirates. The members of the electoral college can nominate themselves to be candidates for the FNC.