The ‘Public Vote’ is an initiative of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for Smart Government. The initiative allows the public (including Emirati nationals and expatriate residents) to vote online for the best Dubai government-nominated initiative for the year. The entity which gets the largest number of public votes receives Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for Smart Government Flag. The initiative aims to engage people and activate the partnership between the government departments and the community in developing the government’s services and customer happiness. The Hamdan bin Mohammed Program for Smart Government Flag 2018 was handed to Dubai Police for their initiative ‘the smart police station’.

eVoting corner initiative

In 2018, Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs in collaboration with the Youth Hub organsied the eVoting corner initiative. The Youth Hub hosted an electronic voting platform which is designed to allow users to vote in the FNC elections. The objective was to familiarise the youth with the electoral process, which allows voters to choose their representatives in the Federal National Council.

eVoting for Federal National Council elections

The UAE had conducted its Federal National Council elections sessions by using an advanced eVoting system which had with biometric-based smart cards to verify voters' identities. Votes were cast not through the traditional methods of filling out forms and depositing them in ballot boxes but through electronic voting machines which were made available through several polling centers across the UAE. The launch of eVoting system aims to ensure highest standards of accuracy, speed, transparency, reliability and protection for the FNC election. Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) maintains the national identity management infrastructure which forms the primary foundation for the eVoting system and its security. The UAE Population Register which the ICA maintains helps in extracting the electoral roll of eligible voters. The biometric-based smart identity card for citizens helps in authenticating the voters.