Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for FNC Affairs, was among the first to vote on Monday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

He led the early voters who, after having their IDs verified, were called into a huge room with numerous electronic screens for voters to use in private.

The screens showed pictures of each candidate and their identification numbers.

Abdullah Mubarak Al Ameri, 35, said he came to support his brother, who is a candidate, as well as the other candidates.

“The number of candidates is large and the competition is good, and I wish the best to my brother and the other candidates. This is a nice initiative, to have early voting, and this year the number is expected to reach high levels.

“And I have to send a message to the people so they will take advantage of this opportunity, so the culture will reach other people and they will be encouraged to vote.”

He advised those who will vote to bare in mind the overall benefit for the UAE people and not vote only for those they know or are related to.

“Having the freedom to choose is great, but choose wisely, especially since you only have one vote,” he said. “I wish we could vote for more because more than one is eligible and excellent of course, but we must know who to choose and why.” Details