Sharjah 24: The third and final day of the Sharjah Consultative Council elections recorded a distinguished, once in a lifetime electoral experience for the people of the emirate.

Citizen Saleh Al Zarouni set out early in the morning on Thursday, driving in his grand vintage car from the 1970s, which he has reserved for special occasions like these, to the polling centre at the Sharjah Chess Club and casting his vote in person.

Al Zarouni said the special occasion, which Sharjah experiences every four years, is one of the most important national celebrations that calls for the solidarity of all the people of the emirate to answer the call of duty and choose their choice of candidate to represent them in the Council. He was pleased to visit the polling centre in an appearance befitting the joyous occasion, enjoying the thrilling electoral experience upclose.

The final day of voting in Sharjah recorded a surge in traffic on the website dedicated to polls. Same was the case at the nine electoral centres across the emirate, starting at early morning at 8am, to exercise their electoral right and participate in decision-making, in a way that enhances the parliamentary process in the emirate, in accordance with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

The city of Sharjah has been allocated 9 seats for which 93 candidates are in the fray from a list of 192 candidates from various cities and regions of the Emirate of Sharjah.

Voters expressed their gratitude to His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah for the electoral experience in the Emirate of Sharjah by allowing direct election to 25 seats of the Council -- half of the total strength of the house -- which has contributed to strengthening the principle of ‘shura’ (consultation) and conveying their voices to the decision makers. They also lauded the smooth organisational arrangements and processes that have been put in place to ensure smooth and convenient voting – both in person and online -- according to the global best practices of accuracy and transparency.

Once in a lifetime experience
The polling centres spread across the Emirate witnessed a remarkable presence of senior officials and employees from various Sharjah government agencies and departments to vote for the candidates listed in nine electoral districts.

From Khorfakkan, the bride of the east coast, to Kalba, the pearl of the east coast, and from Kalba to the virtuous city of Dibba Al-Hisn, the people of the eastern region expressed immense enthusiasm to be part of the whole experience and celebrated their big day at the polling centre.

Both the election website www.eccs.shj.ae and the polling centres scattered across the Emirate witnessed huge rush of citizens keen not to miss the historic opportunity to have their say and choose their representatives.

Khorfakkan city
Engineer Fawzia Rashid Al-Qadi, Chairperson of the District Electoral Committee in Khorfakkan City and Director of Khorfakkan City Municipality, reaffirmed the Committee’s keenness to fulfill the requirements of the electoral process with the highest standards of transparency and accuracy that reflects the development of the city and its future aspirations. He pointed to the keenness of the people of Khorfakkan to fulfill their electoral duty either through electronic voting or physical polling at Expo Centre Khorfakkan. The people of Khorfakkan get to choose three members of the Council from among 23 candidates.

Kalba city
Engineer Abdul Rahman Abdullah Al-Naqbi, Chairman of the Kalba City Electoral District Committee and Director of the Kalba City Municipality, praised the response of the people of Kalba City to the electoral process and the remarkable turnout for voting via the website. Many people keen to vote in person visited the Kalba City Neighbourhood Council. Kalba gets to choose 3 Council members from among 15 candidates to participate in decision-making.

Dibba Al-Hisn city
Talib Abdullah Safar, Chairman of the Dibba Al-Hisn City Electoral District Committee and Director of the Dibba Al-Hisn City Municipality, said that the Dibba Al-Hisn City Council received many of the city’s residents over the course of three days to choose two Council members from among 14 candidates, pointing to the maturity of the electoral culture in the city and the people’s awareness of the importance of the Consultative Council, which truly represents the voice of the people of the Emirate.