Low Turnout Reported in Saudi and UAE Elections

Initially poor turnout has been reported in Saudi Arabia’s second-ever local council elections in which 5,324 candidates are competing for 1,056 seats to fill half the positions in the country’s 285 councils. The remaining seats are appointed by the government. Earlier this week, women were granted the right to vote and run for office in Saudi Arabia’s 2015 elections.

The United Arab Emirates also held the second-ever advisory board election in the country’s 40-year history. Four-hundred and sixty-eight candidates contested 20 seats in the 40-seat Federal National Council (FNC), seeking the votes of 129,000 eligible voters, which represents only 12 per cent of Emirati nationals. Low turnout was reported in these elections as well, with approximately 36,000 people, or 28 percent, casting their vote when polls closed.