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United Arab Emirates Page |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's pages on United Arab Emirates
Official Name: United Arab Emirates
Capital: Abu Dhabi
Area: 83,600 square kilometres ( 32,278 square miles )
Major cities (Population)
Abu Dhabi 605,000 (1990 estimate)
Dubai 265,702 (1990)
Population: 1,904,000 (1995 estimate)
Population growth rate: 2.6 per cent (1990-1995 average)
Type of government: Federation; UAE central government assumes specific powers and responsibilities, while member emirates reserve others.
Independence: 2 December 1971 (from the United Kingdom)
Constitution: 2 December 1971 (provisional)
Government
The United Arab Emirates were formerly called the Trucial States, in reference to the Perpetual Maritime Truce signed between those states, and the United Kingdom in 1853 to halt piracy and other hostilities at sea. The states, or Emirates were under the military protection of the United Kingdom until December 2, 1971, when six of the states became independent as the United Arab Emirates. A seventh state, Ra’s al Khaymah, joined in 1972.
Each of the Emirates has its own hereditary ruler; together they comprise the highest body of the federal government, the Supreme Council of Rulers. The council elects from its members a president and vice president. The federation is also governed by a prime minister, who is appointed by the president, and a 40-member consultative assembly called the Federal National Council. The president also appoints a cabinet called the Council of Ministers. There is no suffrage and no political parties. The provisional constitution of 1971, which was renewed in 1976, 1981, 1986, and 1991, provided for the establishment of the Union Supreme Court and the Union Primary Tribunals as the judicial organs of the federation. In February 1994 President Sheikh Zayed ordered that a broad range of crimes, including murder, theft, adultery, and drug offences, be tried under Shariah (Islamic religious law) rather than in civil courts.
Recent History
The UAE was a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in May 1981. Events in regional politics—including the aftermath of the fall of the Shah of Iran, the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, and the Iran–Iraq War threatened UAE stability during the 1980s. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 exacerbated the political situation. The UAE responded by renouncing Iraqi aggression, and when the Persian Gulf War broke out in January 1991, the federation joined the United Nations-led, multinational coalition that defeated Iraq.
In September 1993 Sheikh Zayed’s government welcomed the signing of the landmark Israeli-Palestinian peace accord and arranged to provide financial assistance to the Palestinians. Also that year, a dispute between the UAE and Iran over administration of the island of Abu Musa continued without significant progress. The conflict began in April 1992 when Iran refused to allow several hundred expatriates to return to the island, which is jointly administered by the two nations under a 1991 agreement. The UAE has had similar disputes with Iran over the two Tunb islands in the Persian Gulf. In early December 1994, the UAE announced its decision to refer to the International Court of Justice the case of the three disputed islands. Iran subsequently backed down in the face of significant diplomatic support for the UAE in the region.
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