No women made it to Kuwait’s legislature as voters in the Gulf Arab state ushered back in many Islamist and tribal politicians from the previous house, which could mean further stagnation in economic reform.
Twenty-seven women were among the 275 hopefuls in the race for the 50 seats that became vacant when the ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah dissolved parliament in March, ending a standoff with the Cabinet that had delayed economic reforms.
The bourse edged down after the results. The exchange, the second largest in the Arab world, had risen after parliament was dissolved on hopes the new chamber would be more business-friendly but has since shed some of its gains.
The last assembly focused on questioning ministers over their conduct, forcing several to resign. The OPEC producer has yet to appoint an oil minister since the last one quit in November.
Women failed to secure any seats in the 2006 polls. The country gave women the right to vote and stand for office in 2005, but many nationals of both sexes believe a woman’s place is in the home.
Twenty-eight members of the previous parliament were re-elected, results carried by the official media said. Many of the new faces hail from tribal areas.
Voters also brought back two Shiite Muslim politicians who had been questioned over participating in a ceremony that has highlighted sectarian tensions in the mainly Sunni country.
Shiite representation rose by one member of parliament to five while the Islamic Constitutional Movement, Kuwait’s version of the Middle East’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, won three seats compared with six in the dissolved house.
Several members of the Islamic Salafist movement won seats.
The two-month campaign leading up to Saturday’s polls was marred by protests, arrests and confusion after a new law redrew electoral districts to ensure a more balanced representation in a parliament that has tended to be dominated by Islamist blocs and tribal alliances.
Kuwait, which sits on a 10th of the world’s oil reserves, wants to wean its economy off energy exports and emulate the success of neighbors like Dubai and Bahrain, which have transformed themselves into financial centers and tourist destinations.
Amid the political squabbles, reforms such as a bill to attract foreign investment were left on the back burner.
Part of the problem is that ordinary Kuwaitis oppose reforms that would cut their benefits. They pay no taxes and are content with state jobs and handouts and free health and schools.
Voters said political squabbling had diverted too much attention away from using oil revenues for economic development.
Although many candidates had heaped criticism on what they called the “weak” Cabinet, most Kuwaitis seem to blame lawmakers more for the political gridlock.
Parliament has mounted a number of challenges against Cabinet ministers, grilling them or threatening to impeach them over a range of issues from endangering religious values to corruption. The animosity paralyzed politics and halted plans to privatize the single-source economy.
Those plans include unpopular moves such as introducing income taxes, which Kuwait has never done, and allowing foreign companies into the state-owned oil sector.
Saturday’s elections saw the reduction of electoral districts from 25 to just five to defeat attempts at vote-buying.
Reformists believed that larger districts would make it harder for candidates to buy their victory because they would need much more money. Saturday’s polls were the first under the new rules.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a