The eighth general election in Kuwait in less than ten years began on Tuesday, following a series of political crises that weakened the government and halted reforms.
Kuwaitis elect new parliament: More than 793,000 eligible voters will decide the composition of the 50-seat legislature in the only Gulf Arab state with an elected parliament with authority to hold the government accountable.
The results will be released the following day. Polling places began at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) and will end at 8:00 pm.
Many voters were clad in traditional throb robes as they stood in a queue outside in the hot summer heat.
After casting her ballot, Maasoumah Bousafar, 64, told AFP, “I came to fulfill my national duty, and I am confident things would improve.
Kuwait’s emir, Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, called for the vote last month after again dissolving the legislature. The ongoing impasse with the executive branch, which had discouraged investment and slowed growth, was the reason behind this decision.
The fewest candidates in a general election since 1996 are vying for a total of 207 seats in the legislature for a four-year term. The group includes 13 women and opposition figures.
All but three of the 50 elected members of parliament in 2022 are seeking reelection.
Human rights activist Hadeel Buqrais said voting was still significant despite widespread dissatisfaction with the political establishment.
She told AFP, “This is the only place where I have a voice, and boycotting would be giving up my citizenship rights.”
Buqrais stated, “I have to participate, even if I don’t anticipate the new parliament to address issues” about the nation’s human rights record.
There have been about a dozen dissolutions of the legislature since Kuwait adopted a parliamentary system in 1962.
The phrase “leadership failure.”
The constitutional court threw out the results of last year’s elections, in which the opposition made big gains, leading to reinstating the previous parliament elected in March 2020.
According to Daniel L. According to Tavana, an assistant professor of political science at Penn State University, many people in Kuwait feel that they are being asked to participate in a political process that does not serve them.
During their conversation, he voiced his opinion to AFP, stating that we should only anticipate limited actions from an elected legislature, and he presented arguments highlighting the broken nature of the electoral system.
The ruling Al-Sabah family, which maintains a firm hold over political life, appoints Kuwait’s cabinet ministers, while the popular vote determines the selection of Members of Parliament (MPs).
Legislators have been unable to enact economic reforms due to ongoing disputes between the executive and legislative branches of government, and the persistent budget deficits and limited foreign investment have only made the situation bleak.
Oil-rich 7% of the world’s crude reserves are in Kuwait, which borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Moreover, it boasts one of the world’s strongest sovereign wealth funds with negligible debt.
But in a wealthy nation trying to diversify like Gulf powerhouses Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, its lack of stability has scared off investors and crushed dreams of transformation.
Bader al-Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University, declared, “Kuwait is not doing well.” Therefore, the only solution is not to have elections on steroids.
He criticized a “failure in leadership in Kuwait’s often recycled political class, whether in government or parliament,” telling AFP that “the Kuwaiti political system is in dire need of innovation.”