Twenty are happy, 430 less so. They are the candidates in Saturday’s FNC elections who failed to win the voters’ favour during two and a half weeks of hard campaigning. Seven of them, all of whom stood as candidates in Ras Al Khaimah, are asking for a manual recount.
“We are going to contest this,” said Yousif Al Ghalili, a member of the Shehhi family – one of RAK’s biggest mountain tribes. His 414 votes were fewer than he expected.
“I am quite popular among my community, and just alone through family and friends that number should be at least double,” he said. He met the RAK election committee yesterday to see what could be done. Now he and six others plan to head there again today with a petition outlining their grievances.
“It might be just a computer error,” he said. “The experts should recheck that and then double check it against the printed ballots.” Otherwise, he said, there might be what he described as “foul play”.
The others objecting are Monzer bin Shakr, Ali Al Wali, Ayman Al Sharhan, Ahmed Al Shehhi, Hasher Rashid, and Muna Mohammed. Besides her own loss, Mrs Mohammed is upset that only one woman won a seat.
“It is not because we the women are not qualified, it is because our society still can’t accept us as equals,” said the 46-year-old teacher.
She feels “humiliated” at gaining only 49 votes. “It can’t be, my own family is bigger than that and they all voted for me,” she said.
She ran in 2006, too. “I put in a lot more effort this time around, and sat and met voters across the emirate and reached out to them,” said Mrs Mohammed. “I won’t accept this number of votes, it needs to be investigated.”
There was also disquiet in Sharjah, where one candidate has so far appealed against the result. Others have until 8pm tonight – 48 hours after the results were announced – to do so.
Full Article: Handful of FNC candidates demand recount – The National.