Voter turnout in Saturday's elections varied across the nation as some communities flocked to vote and others stayed at home.
In total, 117,592 Emiratis cast their vote at ballot boxes across the seven emirates. That accounts for 34.81 per cent of the 337,738 eligible.
It was slightly down from 35.29 per cent in 2015 but the turnout in numbers on Saturday was much higher than four years ago, when 224,279 voters were eligible.
Dubai had the lowest turnout with just 21 per cent. That means just 12,891 of the 60,772 who were eligible voted.
Hamad Al Rahoumi, who was elected to one of Dubai's four seats for a third time, said the reasons for low turnout must be investigated.
“The low turnout upset me. I am not happy with this," Mr Al Rahoumi said on Sunday.
"We need to study the reasons why the number of voters dropped to that extent. The commission needs to measure the factors that caused this drop.
"We need to really figure out why such a low turnout from Dubai. There is clearly a gap that we need to fill and figure out the reason behind it.”
Umm Al Quwain had the highest percentage of voters turn out at 57 per cent of the 6,653 eligible Emiratis, although it was even higher in 2015 when 67 per cent voted.
“The population is small here compared to the rest of the emirates and we have strong ties between each other," said Anoud Al Kendi, 31, a social worker who was able to vote for the first time this year.
"Neighbours, co-workers and family members encouraged each other to go and vote on the early days and the main election day. In our family, it is like a race to see who would vote first."
She voted for Mohammed Al Kashef, who was elected to the council alongside Athra bin Rakkad.
"He is seen almost in every event, every celebration and every workshop in Umm Al Quwain," she said.
“He was available long before the election. Everyone knows him and believes in him and his ability to speak on behalf of us."
Ahmad Al Ali, 42, a father of six, said friends and relatives spoke of the need to ensure their vote was not wasted.
“We are indeed a small community where everyone knows everyone," Mr Al Ali said. "People were encouraging each other to go.
“I’m happy that Mohammed Al Kashef and Athra bin Rakkad won the seats. They both deserve it and will definitely work hard for UAQ people and the people of the UAE."
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
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if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
Brief scoreline:
Wolves 3
Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2
Arsenal 1
Papastathopoulos 80'
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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more from Janine di Giovanni
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
