Three elections were held since 2006. Here is a brief account of each election for the FNC.

The first election in 2006

The first elections of Federal National Council were held in December 2006 by virtue of the Resolution No. 3 of 2006, issued by the late H. H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

The electoral college had 6595 members nationwide out of which 456 were contesting for the FNC membership.

Key highlights of 2006 elections

The elections campaigns tackled community concerns such as the national identity, employment opportunities and resettlement, education, health, women and children rights, housing and improving the living conditions of the UAE nationals.

Elections were conducted via eVoting machines. Computer technologies were used to register and store candidates and voters' data and verify their identities.

Emirati women earned strong presence in the 2006 FNC elections by occupying 22.2 per cent of the total seats. For the first time, eight women were appointed and one was elected. This was one of the highest rates of women's representation in a country's parliament worldwide.

The second election in 2011

The second FNC election, which took place on 24 September 2011, advanced the political empowerment programme in the UAE. It has seen a substantial increase in participation of citizens in the process of choosing their representatives in the Federal National Council.

Key highlights of 2011 elections

The size of electoral college grew to 135,308 voters.

Amongst this, 469 including 85 women were contesting.

Voters included 54 per cent men and 46 per cent women.

Candidates used social media network for campaigns and interaction with voters.

Electronic voting systems were adopted in 13 polling stations across the UAE.

The minimum number of members of the electoral college was increased to 300 times the number of seats allotted for each emirate, with no maximum limit.

The third election in 2015

The third election took place in October 2015.

Key highlights of 2015 elections

• Growth of the electoral college to 224,279 voters, with women representing 48 per cent of total voters
• Participation of 79,157 voters; there were 48,330 men and 30,827 women
• An increase in voters' turnout to 35.29 per cent
• 330 candidates including 74 women from across the emirates contested the elections
• Participation of the elderly; as using the electronic voting system has not been a challenge for them anymore
• Increase in the number of polling stations across the country to 36
• Introduction of early voting for three days during which 37,663 voters cast their votes. Voting was also held outside the UAE in 94 polling centres in the UAE diplomatic missions in most countries

One appeal was received from one of the candidates in Dubai against the validity of the preliminary results; NEC rejected the appeal due to lack of strong evidence.

The fourth election in 2019

The fourth election took place in 2019. Read about 2019 elections on the website of Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs.

The fifth election in 2023

The fifth election took place in October 2023.