Kuwaitis vote to choose parliament members amid optimism for a new stage
Today, Thursday, Kuwaitis went to the polls to cast their votes to choose 50 representatives of the National Assembly (Parliament) out of 305 candidates, including 22 women, amid a state of optimism about a new stage after nearly two years of conflict between the previous parliament and successive governments.
The Kuwaiti parliament enjoys wide powers, including the power to pass laws and prevent their passage, to question the prime minister and ministers, and to vote no-confidence against senior government officials.
Counselor Khaled Al-Othman, head of the original committee at Youssef Bin Issa Secondary School for Women in the Dahiyat Abdullah Al-Salem area near the capital, said that the electoral process began at eight o'clock, and "the attendance was relatively small," but he expected attendance to increase more and more in the coming hours.
Al-Othman told Reuters: "The process is going smoothly and smoothly, and there is no obstacle at all, and everyone is cooperating, whether policemen, delegates or agents."
Elections are held under the supervision of judges and according to the one-vote system, which means that each voter has the right to vote for only one candidate, and the voting process takes place in one day from eight in the morning until eight in the evening.
The official agency quoted Justice Minister Jamal Al-Jalawi as saying that "the electoral process is proceeding normally and all the measures that have been taken have brought about the desired results," expecting that the voter turnout will be "standard."
The Acting Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Acting Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah began an inspection tour in the morning on the electoral districts, starting with the Jahra governorate in the fourth district, to follow up on the progress of the process.
Kuwait consists of five constituencies, each constituency has ten representatives, where the candidates who obtain the first ten positions in each constituency win membership in Parliament.
The number of voters is about 796,000.
Elections are held in 759 electoral committees distributed over 123 schools.
Kuwait held its first parliamentary elections in 1963, when the first parliament was formed after independence and the constitution.
Kuwaiti elections usually witness a wide turnout, sometimes reaching 80% of those eligible to vote, as intellectual, ideological, family and tribal polarization plays a pivotal role in increasing the voter turnout.
As soon as the polling ends, the counting process will begin, with the results appearing within hours.
After the results are announced, the government submits its resignation, to make way for a new government that takes into account the election results and the balances of the new parliament.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news