Dubai: In line with ambitions to spread the culture of political participation in the community and to raise awareness of the upcoming Federal National Council elections, the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs (MFNCA) recently organized its second lecture in the fifth edition of its Neighborhood Councils initiative.
The activity which took place at Al Khawaneej Majlis in Dubai, was titled “Empowerment Program and increasing Political Participation in the Federal National Council Elections.”
Empowering the citizenry is a primary concern of the UAE leadership, which fully understands that the comprehensive development process requires that all elements of society interact with the country’s vibrant political program. The active participation of citizens in the Federal National Council elections is an embodiment of this objective.
Mr. Sami Mohammed bin Adi, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Support Services Sector at MFNCA remarked while speaking about the Initiative.
Meanwhile, Mr. Huraiz Al-Murr bin Huraiz, Executive Director of the Development and Social Care Sector at the Community Development Authority, said, “The neighborhood councils play an instrumental role in enhancing community awareness of vital issues that affect national development. With this in mind, we are delighted to host the ministry’s lectures, held to expand political participation in the FNC’s neighborhood council elections in the Emirate of Dubai.”

THE EVENT
The event saw Dr. Ahmed Al-Mansoori, Specialist in Law and International Relations, detail on the significance of community members becoming politically active by participating in local elections.
Advising the audience members of their responsibilities and duties towards the UAE’s parliamentary work, Dr. Al-Mansoori highlighted that thanks to the vision of its wise leadership, the country has established itself as a role model in upgrading all sectors by successfully capitalizing on the strengths of its people. He said that this strategy had elevated the country to the top positions across many important global indexes and ratings.
“The wise leadership of the UAE persistently advances the path of development in all fields. The speech of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the occasion of the 34th National Day in 2005 outlined the Empowerment Program and highlighted how the approach of political participation of the citizenry was rooted in the UAE’s system of government, Dr. Al-Mansoori further added.
The Specialist in Law and International Relations elaborated that the Empowerment Program was the basis of a comprehensive national action plan to enhance the political participation of UAE citizens in the country’s political life. The leadership of the UAE is working to enhance political participation in Emirati society and to urge citizens to become actively engaged in the decision-making process.
Concluding the session, Dr. Al-Mansoori established that the FNC elections in their previous four tours saw broad participation from Emiratis, with results having seen qualitative transformations that strengthened the UAE at the regional and global levels.