Kuwait Times, Tuesday, Jun 06, 2023 | Thul-Qidah 17, 1444
Kuwaitis head to vote again
Kuwait:
Kuwaiti voters head to the polls on Tuesday for
the third time since December 2020 to elect a new parliament they hope will put
an end to almost two decades of non-stop political disputes, which have stalled
development despite huge revenues from oil. The elections, the seventh in just
the last 11 years, were called after HH the Amir dissolved the National Assembly
elected in 2020 for the second time after the constitutional court reinstated it
following its first dissolution.
The Assembly was dissolved for the first time in August last year due to
disputes between MPs and the government. Snap polls were then held in September
2022, in which the opposition scored a resounding victory. However, the
constitutional court nullified the election on March 19 after finding that the
decree which dissolved the Assembly breached the constitution. It also
reinstated the 2020 Assembly. Since 2003, the Kuwaiti parliament has completed
its four-year full term only once, between 2016 and 2020.
During the same period, it was dissolved or annulled by the constitutional court
on seven occasions. The Cabinet, which is always led by a senior member of the
ruling family, was changed more frequently. Some 793,646 citizens are eligible
to vote. They include 406,895 females or 51.3 percent of the electorate, and
386,751 men (48.7 percent). As many as 207 candidates, including 13 women, are
contesting the 50-seat National Assembly. The number of candidates is much lower
than the 305 hopefuls who took part in the previous elections in September last
year.
They include 55 former MPs from previous assemblies and as many as 46 members of
the scrapped 2022 Assembly. The ballots open at 8.00 am and close 12 hours
later. Voting will take place at some 118 centers spread across the six
governorates. Initial results are not expected before midnight on Tuesday. Some
1,157 judges will supervise the elections, which will be monitored by local
civil societies. Hundreds of police have been deployed to watch the voting
process.
Kuwait is divided into five electoral constituencies, with each electing 10 MPs.
Campaigning this time has primarily focused on trying to convince voters to
vote, as people feel increasingly frustrated with the turn of events and
frequent voting. There were fewer rallies compared to previous polls and many
candidates did not even set up their election headquarters. Campaigning only
gained some steam in the last few days, when candidates started attacking each
other and criticizing the government.