Reply #4: Historic Elections Open in United Arab Emirates [View All]

Historic elections open in United Arab Emirates

The Associated Press
Saturday, December 16, 2006

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

The United First Emirates' first ever elections opened Saturday in two of the seven Emirates, including the capital, of this oil-rich Gulf country.

A small number of voters in the capital Abu Dhabi and the eastern emirate of Fujeirah will become the first Emirati citizens to cast ballots since independence in 1971. Voters in Dubai and the other four emirates that make up the federal state will visit polls Monday and Wednesday.

"Today is one of the most significant days in the history of the United Arab Emirates," declared the editorial of the Gulf News daily on Saturday. "It is the first and cautious step on a long road to democracy that the country now feels able to introduce into society," added the editorial.

"It's a day that will remain engraved in the nation's memory," reads the editorial of Al-Bayan daily.

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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/16/africa/ME_GEN_Emirates_Election.php