Wednesday 30 / October / 2024
Abu Dhabi: A female candidate for the Federal National Council in the UAE apologised for plagiarising the campaign message of an Omani woman running for office.
Dr Sheikha Al Shehhi, who is standing for election in Ras Al Khaimah, spoke out after it was discovered that a video post she released on Friday had verbatim sections of a statement used by an Omani candidate, Basma Mubarak.
Dr Al Shehhi said she had no intention to replicate the Omani candidate's words, stating a mistake had been made by her campaign team.
She issued an apology to the "fraternal Omani nation" on Twitter, praising Mubarak and wishing her luck in country's upcoming consultative assembly elections.
In Mubarak's video, she introduces herself by saying: "My decision to nominate myself, was not made today."
The sentence is repeated word-for-word by Dr Al Shehhi.
Mubarak goes on to say that the decision to stand was a result of consecutive efforts and a series of legal and civil activities that she has carried out over the past 15 years.
“I nominate myself because you deserve a real political experience,” she states.
Dr Al Shehhi, who works as a notary public in the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, repeats every single line in her message.
Mubarak accepted Dr Al Shehhi's apology in a post on Twitter.
The incident drew mixed reactions on social media, with a number of people agreed that it was an honest mistake.
