UAE to elect new advisory body members

The United Arab Emirates will elect new members of the purely advisory Federal National Council on September 24, daily newspapers reported on Thursday.

"The Federal National Council elections will be held on September 24, it was announced on Wednesday," Gulf News daily reported.

Members of electoral colleges appointed by the emirates' rulers are entitled to elect half the members of the 40-strong council. The remainder is named by the rulers themselves.

The UAE, which groups seven emirates including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, had indirect elections in 2006 for the first time.

The government described the polls as the start of a process that would eventually see all Emiratis electing half the members of an expanded FNC with greater powers.

Last month, the UAE increased to more than 12,000 the number of people named to the electoral colleges.

Emirati intellectuals and activists, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world, petitioned the president on March 9 to introduce direct elections and vest parliament with legislative power.

The petition was signed by over 100 Emiratis including academics, journalists and rights activists.

In near-by Bahrain, Shiite-led protests are voicing demands ranging from sacking the cabinet to abolishing the monarchy altogether.

In neighboring Oman, the sultan announced a sweeping cabinet reshuffle in response to protests against corruption.