The opposition in Kuwait achieved great progress in the National Assembly elections by obtaining 60% of the parliament's seats, and women were able to regain their presence in the parliament by obtaining two seats.
Unofficial preliminary results for the election of parliament members revealed a significant change in the parliament's composition, as 30 deputies counted against the opposition, including former National Assembly Speaker Ahmed al-Saadoun, won.
According to these results, the Shiite component won 10 seats, in a precedent that has not happened before, while the Islamists - among Salafis, Brotherhood and independents - won 8 seats.
The parliamentary results also bore another surprise, represented in the victory of two candidates who are languishing in the central prison.
One is serving a two-year prison sentence, and the other is in custody pending a case in which he was accused of participating in by-elections.
Preliminary results also revealed that Kuwaiti women regained the presence they lost in the previous parliament, after the two candidates, Janan Boushahri and Alia Al-Khaled, managed to win two parliamentary seats in the new parliament.
screening processes
The counting of votes began immediately after the end of the voting process, yesterday evening, Thursday, and the Kuwaiti State TV broadcast the counting operations from the election committees via live broadcast.
The elections included 5 electoral districts according to the one electoral vote system to choose 50 members of the National Assembly from among 305 male and female candidates.
These elections follow an Amiri decree on the second of last August, according to which the National Assembly was dissolved due to the lack of cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities (the government).
The Kuwaiti National Assembly was established on January 23, 1963, and no law is issued in Kuwait unless approved by the parliament and ratified by the Emir of the country.
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.
There are no official political parties in Kuwait, but the authority deals with existing political groups and does not seek to undermine or restrict them.