Election Reform in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates holds its first ever elections starting Saturday, with an indirect vote for half the members of an advisory council, a small step in a tightly-controlled reform process. The figures sum up the modest nature of the exercise in the federation of seven emirates, the last of the conservative Gulf Arab monarchies to hold polls. [link]

By American standards (18 years old to vote), only 2% of the population is allowed to vote. That is bad. But of the 6,689 permitted by the government to vote, 1,189 of those votes will be placed by women. That’s a little better. Still far from democracy like we in the States experience.