Nineteen candidates have pulled out of the race for a seat on the FNC, the National Election Committee announced yesterday. Of the 469 candidates on the preliminary list, one dropped out before campaigning began and a further 18 have withdrawn since. There are 450 remaining. <span style="color: #000000; font-size: xx-small;">________________________________________________________________________________________</span> <span style="color: #000000; font-size: xx-small;">_______________________________________________________________________________________</span> The majority of withdrawals were from Abu Dhabi, where eight candidates dropped out. Seven Sharjah candidates also withdrew, as well as one in each of Dubai, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. No one dropped out in Umm Al Qaiwain. In Abu Dhabi, 109 candidates remain competing for four seats. In Dubai, 123 are competing for four seats, while in Sharjah, 87 are competing for three seats. Fifty-nine are contesting two seats in Ras Al Khaimah, while 33 are competing for three seats in Ajman. In Fujairah, 20 candidates are contesting two seats and in Umm Al Qaiwain 19 people are competing for two seats.