UAE inching towards more representative government

Members of the Federal National Council are seeking legislative powers for the council.

The National:

The 40-member FNC currently has the authority to debate and amend laws, question ministers and discuss the annual federal budget, but not to initiate legislation. Half of the FNC’s members are appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates, while the other half are chosen by an electoral college of nearly 6,700 Emiratis, who are chosen by the rulers.

Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for FNC Affairs, highlighted the fact that this FNC was a historic one, being the first to experience elections and to have its term extended to four years.
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Some FNC members have a broad range of proposals for reform of the council. These include an expansion of the electoral base that elects half the members in order to enfranchise more Emiratis, and having more representatives.

Other proposals include granting the council broader oversight powers in order to hold government bodies accountable and, somewhere down the line, the power to initiate legislation.

Gulf News:

Sultan Saqr Al Suwaidi, a member from Dubai, said the House must have more powers to scrutinise the Government and take part in the decision making process and not just submit recommendations, which may or may not be implemented. "It is high time to move on to a full-fledged legislature and take proper decisions to boost political participation and help the FNC to play its role in supporting social, economic and political development," Al Suwaidi said.

He added political participation is a popular demand and the ceiling [of political life] has to be raised.
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Political liberalisation in the UAE received a boost with the first elections to the country's legislature in December 2006. The elections, however, presented only a small step in terms of political development as only about 6,600 Emiratis were able to cast their vote.

Going all the way to "full legislative powers and universal suffrage", Dr Abdul Rahim Al Shahin, a Ras Al Khaimah representative told Gulf News he aspires for full legislative powers for the House and universal sufferage for Emiratis to help the House meet expectations heaped upon it. "It is not logical to allow hand-picked group of citizens to vote and deprive others from their rights," he said.

Note that the rulers of Abu Dhabi have ownership in The National, and the rulers of Dubai have ownership in The Gulf News.

There's no mention of popular election of rulers.

Do the citizenry want a more representative government? There is great income inequality in the UAE, but the economic well-being UAE citizens is much better than those in Saudi Arabia, and certainly Egypt. The country's wealth is shared with the citizenry. I'm not sure the attitude isn't leave well enough alone. That's not a recommendation wrapped in a conjecture. I'd like to see the UAE become a democracy.

Government to clarify chilling media law

The National:

Ibrahim al Abed, the NMC’s director general, said the Government would release an appendix to the law within eight weeks that should clear up what critics have termed “vague provisions”.
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Mohammed Yousef, the director of the UAE Journalists Association, said last week that he would continue to lobby for changes to the law before it was passed. Mr Yousef said the FNC committee had integrated almost none of his association’s recommendations.

Other critics have said the articles were too open to interpretation and could have a chilling effect on the way the media is able to report.

But according to Mr al Abed, the legislation is aimed at preventing stories from being fabricated. “If one is confident of the source, then there’s no problem,” he said. “We’re talking about rumours such as spreading false news about a major company going bankrupt or that the economy is collapsing.”

UAE considering "gag" law on bad economic news

This doesn't sound good. Wall Street Journal:

The United Arab Emirates plans to crackdown on media freedoms amid a slew of bad headlines about the impact of the global financial crisis on the Persian Gulf state's economy and corporate scandals in Dubai.

A new 45-article law, which was introduced by the National Media Council, the government arm responsible for all media affairs, was presented to the country's Federal National Council to replace the 28-year-old Publications Law.

The law, which is still at draft stage, will introduce a system of fines, ranging from 50,000 U.A.E. dirhams ($13,600) to AED1 million, for damaging the country's reputation or its economy, according to a copy of the legislation published in local media Wednesday.

The National also has coverage:

Despite protecting journalists from imprisonment and guaranteeing the anonymity of sources, the draft law drew criticism from some in the media and lawyers for being vague.

Under the proposed law, journalists and newspapers who damage the reputation of the UAE, or publish material that harms the national economy, can be fined and banned.

However, Dr Qubaisi said that had to be read in context. While the law stated that publishing news that misled public opinion or harmed the national economy was punishable, truth could be used as a defence. It was false information that was “knowingly” printed that was deemed a violation.
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See also

• Provisions of the law
• Critics say law’s provisions are too vague
• A media law in need of clarity
• Media council retains much of its powers

Addendum. Fake Plastic Souks goes back and compares the new law to the old law (1980) and writes that you can "wonder for yourself at how much has changed."

And he notes he notes the new law is as archaic as the old in at least this respect: the law makes no reference to the 'e-world' and remains firmly rooted in the idea that 'the media' is content produced by licensed entities that squash ink onto dead trees and that would be held to account according to the terms of their trade license.

Addendum 2. Some say the West is becoming increasing comfortable with regulation of speech:

“What we’re learning here is really the bedrock difference between the United States and the countries that are in a broad sense its legal cousins,” Mr. Steyn added. “Western governments are becoming increasingly comfortable with the regulation of opinion. The First Amendment really does distinguish the U.S., not just from Canada but from the rest of the Western world.”

Addendum 3. Gambia gives a British couple a year hard labor for sedition.