Elections in Kuwait are a relatively straight-forward process taking into consideration the partly parliamentary, partly presidential, semi-democratic structure of governance in the country.
Kuwait grants universal adult suffrage for citizens who are 21 or older, with every registered voter having the right to exercise one vote in favor of one candidate who is contesting for one of the ten seats in his or her electoral district. Hidden behind this simple statement are nuances that determine who gets to vote, who does not; how electoral districts are determined and how the process gets undermined.
Following the country’s independence in 1961, the then Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah issued a decree to hold elections to a Constituent Assembly on 20 January, 1962. The 20 members elected to the Constituent Assembly, along with 11 nominated ministers, were mandated to compile a constitution to establish the system of government, the norms of operation and institutional organization of the country, along with the obligations, rights and duties of citizens. The Constitution was promulgated by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim on 11 November,1962.
Article 6 of the Constitution states that the system of government shall be democratic, under which sovereignty resides in the people, the source of all powers. The Constitution also states that the system of government is based on the principle of separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative power is vested in the Amir and the National Assembly in accordance with the constitution; the Executive power is vested in the Amir, the Cabinet headed by the prime minister and the Council of Ministers; the judicial power is vested in the courts, which shall exercise it in the name of the Amir.
The legislature in Kuwait comprises a unicameral house called the National Assembly or Parliament, which is the country’s top legislative body. Elaborating on the National Assembly, the Constitution makes clear that it is composed of 50 members elected directly by universal suffrage and secret ballot from among the country’s registered voters. In addition to the 50 directly elected parliamentarians, the National Assembly also includes the Prime Minister and up to a maximum of 15 ex-officio members who form the Council of Ministers. At least one of the appointed ministers, and up to a maximum of three, has to be an elected representative.
The Constitution defines the term of the National Assembly as four calendar years commencing from the day of its first sitting. It is also mandated that elections for the new Assembly should take place within 60 days preceding the expiry of the previous parliamentary term, and that the first sitting of the National Assembly should be held within two weeks of the elections. The term of the Assembly may be truncated if it is dissolved by an Amiri decree, which should clearly specify the reasons for the dissolution. The constitution also states that new elections should be held within a period not exceeding two months from the date of dissolution of the previous Assembly.
According to Kuwaiti law, one must be a Kuwaiti citizen over 21 years old and a registered voter in order to participate in the general elections. And, herein lies the rub; Kuwait’s citizenship law, in theory, only grants citizenship to those who descend, in the male line, from residents of Kuwait in 1920. Children of women married to foreigners are, again in theory, not citizens. Thus there are only
567,694 registered voters eligible to vote in the just concluded elections, from a Kuwaiti population of 1.4 million. Though this is an increase of nearly 18 percent from the figures four years ago, the hike in numbers is only reflective of the youthful population of the country coming of voting age.
Any Kuwaiti citizen whose age is 21-years or older, living in the country at the time of the election and registered in one of the five electoral districts, is eligible to cast a vote in that constituency. Any Kuwaiti citizen whose age is 30-years or older, resident of the country at the time of the election and with the ability to read and write in Arabic, is eligible to stand as a candidate for parliamentary elections.
At the same time, any person, who has been sentenced to imprisonment, convicted of a felony or dishonorable crime or has been naturalized within the last 30 years, is not eligible to cast a vote or stand as a candidate. In addition, the head of state, ministers of state, members of the judiciary, executives of the Electoral Commission, members of the Electoral Commission and members of the armed forces or police force, are not allowed to stand as a candidate during the term of their office.
The constituencies are organized into five electoral districts, with each district comprising several residential areas. Districts 4 and 5 have the largest number of voters and together they comprise 38 large residential areas. However, irrespective of the residential areas they represent or the number of voters in the electoral district, each of the five districts are accorded only 10 representatives in parliament.
Each eligible voter registered in a constituency is allowed one vote, and the 10 candidates with the most number of votes are declared elected from that constituency. There is no minimum threshold of votes needed to win a seat and voting is not compulsory. Also, there are no reserved seats or quotas for women or other categories. If two or more candidates receive the same number of votes, the election committee draws a lot to pick the winner. There are also no limits to the number of terms a parliamentarian can serve.
Candidates seeking a parliament seat have to make a deposit of KD500, which is reimbursed if they are able to win at least 10 votes from their constituency. However, the amount is forfeited and paid to a charity in case the candidate fails to win the minimum votes or they withdraw their candidature after the date of withdrawal. The withdrawal date is fixed at seven days before the election date.
Vacancies arising between general elections are filled through by-elections. However, no by-election is held if the vacancy occurs within six months of the expiry of the legislative term.
There are no official political parties in Kuwait and candidates have to run as independents in elections. However, upon winning a seat, members usually form informal parliamentary blocs that tend to lend support and vote en-bloc on bills and issues presented before parliament. Major de facto political parties in previous parliaments included the National Democratic Alliance, Popular Action Bloc, Hadas (Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood), National Islamic Alliance and Justice and Peace Alliance. Together the blocs account for a mix of liberals, tribals, urbanities populists, nationalists and Islamist members.
The National Assembly is a powerful institution in the country. While the Amir can veto laws, the National Assembly has the right to override the veto by a two-third vote. The Assembly is also vested with the constitutional right to approve or disapprove of an Amir’s appointment. The Assembly also supervises the executive through submitting questions, raising any subject of general interest for discussion and setting up committees of inquiry. The supervisory role could lead to an interpellation, or ‘grilling’ of the concerned minister, which would then be followed by a vote of confidence.
Election committees of the five constituencies have announced the final results for their electoral districts.
Final Results of Election 2020
First Constituency:
1- Hassan Abdullah Johar with 5,849 votes
2- Yusuf Fahad Al-Ghurayyeb with 5,064 votes
3- Ahmad Khalifa Al-Shuhoomi with 4,129 votes
4- Hamad Ahmad Rouhuddine with 3,783 votes
5- Essa Ahmad Al-Kandari with 3,398 votes
6- Ali Abdulrasoul Al-Qattan with 3,320 votes
7- Adnan Abdulsamad Zahed with 3,052 votes
8- Abdullah Mohammad Al-Turaiji with 2,472 votes
9- Abdullah Jassem Al-Mudhaf with 2,437 votes
10- Osama Essa Al-Shaheen with 2,167 votes.
Second Constituency:
1- Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim with 5,179 votes
2- Mohammad Barrak Al-Mutair with 3,456 votes
3- Khalil Ibrahim Al-Saleh with 3,117 votes
4- Hamad Mohammad Al-Matar with 2,903
5- Salman Khaled Al-Azmi with 2,866
6- Khaled Ayed Al-Enezi with 2,565 votes
7- Bader Nasser Al-Humaidi with 2,534 votes
8- Bader Hamed Al-Mulla with 2,483 votes
9- Hamad Saif Al-Harshani with 2,208 votes
10- Ahmad Mohammad Al-Hamad with 2,195 votes.
Third Constituency:
1- Abdulkareem Abdullah Al-Kandari with 5,585 votes
2- Osama Ahmad Al-Munawer with 3,858 votes
3- Muhannad Talal Al-Sayer with 3,565 votes
4- Hesham Abdulsamad Al-Saleh with 3,345 votes
5- Abdulaziz Tareq Al-Saqabi with 3,340 votes
6- Yusuf Saleh Al-Fadhalah with 2,992 votes
7- Mubarak Zaid Al-Mutairi with 2,982 votes
8- Saadoun Hammad Al-Otaibi with 2,979 votes
9- Fares Saad Al-Otaibi with 2,942 votes
10- Muhalhal Khaled Al-Mudhaf with 2,904 votes
Fourth Constituency:
1- Shuaib Shabbab Al-Muwaizri with 6,200 votes
2- Fayez Ghannam Al-Mutairi with 5,774 votes
3- Musa’ad Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi with 5,750 votes
4- Mohammad Obaid Al-Rajhi with 5,198 votes
5- Saud Saad Al-Mutairi with 5,100 votes
6- Thamer Saad Al-Dhefeeri with 4,935 votes
7- Marzouq Khalifa Al-Khalifa with 4,760 votes
8- Farz Mohammad Al-Daihani with 4,701 votes
9- Saad Ali Al-Rashidi with 4,520 votes
10- Mubarak Haif Al-Hajraf with 4,422 votes.
Fifth Constituency:
1- Hamdan Salem Al-Azmi with 8,387 votes
2- Bader Zayed Al-Azmi with 8,371 votes
3- Mubarak Abdullah Al-Ajmi with 6,801 votes
4- Al-Saifi Mubarak Al-Ajmi with 6,294 votes
5- Khaled Mohammad Al-Otaibi with 5,387 votes
6- Humoud Mebrek Al-Azmi with 5,347 votes
7- Saleh Theyab Al-Mutairi with 5,113 votes
8- Nasser Saad Al-Doseri with 4,750 votes
9- Mohammad Hadi Al-Huwaila with 4,720 votes
10- Ahmad Abdullah Al-Azmi with 4,651 votes.
– THE TIMES REPORT
Read Today's News TODAY... on our Telegram Channel click here to join and receive all the latest updates t.me/thetimeskuwait
