Page 382 - UAE Truncal States
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The Formation of the Federation
       inserted into the draft presented to the Deputy Rulers, who therefore
        had no alternative but to adjourn, after lengthy discussions, and to
        request that the constitutional committee produce an integrated
        version of the entire text. It look this committee all evening of the
        24th and part of the morning of the 25th of October 1970 to agree on
        the fair copy of the drafts and to decide that five controversial items
        should be referred to the Committee of Deputy Rulers for further
        discussion.75 These items were 1. The siting of the capital, 2. Repre­
        sentation in the Union Council in the permanent constitution, 3. The
        method of voting in the Supreme Council of Rulers, 4. Representa­
        tion in the Union Council while the provisional constitution was in
        force, and 5. Provisions concerning aviation.
          At the insistence of Bahrain, representation in the Union Council
        was discussed first. Although Bahrain had agreed at the Supreme
        Council meeting in October 1969 to equal representation, that is, four
        members from each of the nine Emirates, as recorded in the
        communique which was never signed, it now insisted on represen­
        tation on the basis of the size of the population of each Emirate.76 It
        became obvious during the course of the long and heated debate
        about this point that Bahrain had modified its position in the light of
        the recent survey of public opinion conducted by the UN emissary
        and in response to the popular requests for more democratic
        institutions. When it became clear that Bahrain’s formula for the
        mode of representation was not acceptable, it changed its stance,
        proposing that a further paragraph be inserted requiring that, before
        the four-year period for the provisional constitution expired, a
        census should be conducted and that provisions should be made to
        introduce proportional representation on the Union Council. As
        before, Qatar led the opposition to this provision and persuaded
        Dubai and the smaller Emirates, except for Sharjah, to vote
        likewise;77 Abu Dhabi, usually given to conciliation, abstained. The
        Bahraini delegation maintained their position; they abstained from
        voting for the rest of the meeting and at the end declared their
        unwillingness to take any further part in the discussions “before
        ensuring that the Constitution guarantees the rights of the people of
        the Union, particularly in so far as the representation of the people
        in the Union Council is concerned.”78 The delegations decided not to
        propose a date for the Supreme Council of Rulers’ meeting, realising
        that the plainly-visible rift between some members made a great deal
        of informal discussion and probably some outside mediation
        advisable.79
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