UAE president issues decree on indirect polls :: The Peninsula On-line

The elections are indirect because members are elected to the Federal National Council by electoral colleges in each emirate.

Unexplained: how the the electoral colleges are appointed.

The Peninsula (Qatat's English daily) does note:

Sheikh Khalifa said in December that the partial ballot "will be followed by several others (moving) toward more reforms" leading up to direct elections.

He said he would propose to the new FNC, an advisory body, that it amend the constitution to "reinforce the prerogatives of the council... and increase its membership... in a way that the council can adopt the necessary measures to permit the holding of direct elections."

It's not clear how an advisory body can amend the constitution.

The Peninsula's coverage is more informative than this coverage by Gulf News.