2024 Kuwaiti general election: Difference between revisions

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| align="left" |[[Saud Al-Asfoor|Saud Abdulaziz Al-Hajri]]||10,643
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| align="left" |Bader Zayed Al-Azmi||9,104
| align="left" |[[Bader Al-Dahoum|Bader Zayed Al-Azmi]]||9,104
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| align="left" |Majed Mussaed Al-Mutairi||8,807
| align="left" |Majed Mussaed Al-Mutairi||8,807

Revision as of 16:49, 7 April 2024

2024 Kuwaiti general election
Kuwait
← 2023 4 April 2024 2028 →

50 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly
Turnout62.1% (Increase 2.89pp)
Party % Seats +/–
Salafi Alliance

3.38 3 0
Taalof

3.15 2 0
Hashd

3.06 2 +1
Thawbit Al-Ummah

3.01 2 +1
Hadas

2.15 1 −2
KDF

0.97 1 +1
Justice and Peace Alliance

0.85 1 +1
Independents

83.43 38 −2
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Snap general elections were held in Kuwait on 4 April 2024 to elect 50 of the 65 members of the National Assembly.[1][2] The election came after the dissolution of the National Assembly elected in 2023 on 15 February 2024 due to an MP allegedly insulting Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad.[3] The elections will be the first held during Mishal Al-Ahmad's reign and the fourth election held within four years.

Electoral system

The 50 elected members of the National Assembly are elected from five ten-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote.[4] Political parties are not officially licensed meaning candidates formally run as independents, although many political groups operate freely as de facto political parties.[5] All Kuwaiti citizens above the age of 21 have the right to vote.

Constituencies

Since 2006 Kuwait has been divided into five multi-member constituencies for the election of members to the unicameral National Assembly. [6] These five electoral districts represent 112 residential areas distributed among the six governorates of Kuwait. Regardless of the amount of electorates, all constituencies directly elects 10 representatives to the National Assembly via plurality vote, for a total of 50 elected members out of 65.

Constituency Electorate
2024[7]
Seats
First 104,038 10
Second 95,302 10
Third 143,693 10
Fourth 220,932 10
Fifth 270,768 10

Candidates

Any Kuwaiti-born citizen who is 30 years of age on election day, who is able to read and write in Arabic and has not been convicted of a felony or a crime involving breach of honor or trust is eligible to run for office. On 22 June 2016 parliament passed a law banning any citizen who had insulted the emir from running,[8] resulting in several major opposition figures including Musallam Al-Barrak becoming ineligible candidates. All registered candidates need to pay a registration fee of fifty Kuwaiti Dinars (about US$162.50).

Registration of candidates took place between 4 and 13 March 2024. A total of 255 candidates registered to contest the elections.[9]

Female Candidates

Fourteen women registered to run in the 2023 election, the lowest since the 2016 election. The only female MP during the 17th session, Jenan Boushehri, re-ran for office. Eight female candidates ran in the Third Constituency, two candidates ran in the Second and Fourth constituencies, and only one ran in the First and Fifth.

Secularist Blocs

Two Kuwait Democratic Forum-affiliated members are running in the current election. Mohammed Jawhar Hayat in the first constituency and Saud Al-Babtain in the second constituency.[10]

Populist Blocs

The Popular Action Bloc led by former MP Musallam Al-Barrak announced three candidates for this election. Basel Al-Bahrani in the first constituency, Mutib Al-Rathaan of the fourth constituency and Mohammad Al-Dossari in the fourth constituency.

Sunni Islamist Blocs

Hadas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, decided to field four candidates in four different constituencies. Mohammad Al-Matar replacing Osama Al-Shaheen in the first constituency. Hamad Almatar and Abdulaziz Al-Saqabi will rerun in the second and third constituencies respectively. Muaath Al-Duwaila, son of former MP Mubarak Al-Duwaila, will run in the fourth constituency.[11]

The Islamic Salafi Alliance have four candidates in this election. Three of these candidates were in the last session, Fahad Al-Masoud of the second constituency, Hamad Al-Obaid of the third, and Mubarak Al-Tasha of the fourth. Abdullah Al-Kandari will run in the fifth constituency for the Salafi Alliance. The salafist group, Thawbit Al-Ummah, will have two candidates running in the elections. Current MP Mohammed Hayef al-Mutairi and the recently exonerated Bader Al-Dahoum.[12]

Shia Islamist Blocs

The Justice and Peace Alliance, affiliated with the Shirazi Shiite school, registered two candidates Saleh Ashour in the first constituency and Khalil Al-Saleh in the second constituency. Taalof, a group that broke off from the National Islamic Alliance,[further explanation needed] have registered three candidates including two who were in the last session. Their three candidates are Ahmed Lari of the first constituency, Abdullah Ghandfar of the third constituency and Hani Shams of the fifth constituency.[13]

Conduct

The election was the second in Kuwait to be held during Ramadan. Polling opened at 12:00 and closed at midnight. Around 834,000 citizens were eligible to vote. Sheikh Mishal called for a high turnout, saying that those who boycott the election were relinquishing their constitutional right.[14]

Results

Results showed that opposition politicians maintained their majority in the National Assembly, retaining the 29 seats out of 50 that it had won in the last election. One female candidate was elected, the same as in the previous election, while Shia MPs won eight seats, an increase of one. The Islamic Constitutional Movement, a local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, saw its seats decrease from three to one. Eleven MPs lost their bids for reelection. Analysts said that the election result would mean a continuation of the political dispute between Sheikh Mishal and parliament, which during its upcoming term, is expected to rule on the nomination of a crown prince.[15]

The Kuwaiti Information Ministry said that turnout in the election was at 62%.[15]

PartyVotes%Seats
Islamic Salafi Alliance17,5293.383
Taalof16,3203.152
Popular Action Bloc15,8863.062
Thawbit Al-Ummah15,5773.012
Islamic Constitutional Movement11,1392.151
Kuwait Democratic Forum5,0410.971
Justice and Peace Alliance4,4150.851
Independents432,45883.4338
Total518,365100.0050
Total votes518,365
Registered voters/turnout834,73362.10
Source: AlAraby

Elected members

Constituency Candidate Votes
First Osama Zaid Al-Zaid 4,936
Abdullah Jassem Al-Mudhaf 4,729
Mohammed Johar Hayat 4,134
Ahmed Haji Larry 4,108
Essa Ahmad Al-Kandari 3,678
Basel Hussien Al-Bahrani 3,631
Adel Jassim Al-Damkhi 3,530
Khaled Marzouq Al-Ameera 3,502
Saleh Ashour 3,399
Mohammed Barrak Al-Azmi 3,249
Second Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim 8,295
Shuaib Shabaan 6,325
Abdulwahab Aref Al-Issa 3,917
Falah Dhahi Al-Hajri 3,342
Mohammad Barrak Al-Mutair 3,246
Bader Nashmi Al-Enazi 3,238
Nawaf Bhaish Al-Azmi 3,064
Abdullah Turki Al-Anbaie 2,914
Bader Hamed Al-Mulla 2,758
Fahad Abdulaziz Al-Masoud 2,708
Third Abdulkareem Abdullah Al-Kandari 9,428
Abdulaziz Tareq Al-Saqabi 6,294
Muhalhal Khaled Al-Mudhaf 5,804
Faris Saad Al-Otaibi 5,737
Ahmed Abdulaziz Al-Sadoun 5,250
Jarrah Khaled Al-Fouzan 5,238
Muhannad Talal Al-Sayer 5,114
Ahmed Nabil Al-Fhadel 5,092
Jenan Mohsen Boushehri 4,976
Hamad Adel Al-Obeid 4,908
Fourth Shueib Shabab Al-Muweizri 15,663
Anwar Arrak Al-Dhaferi 8,646
Obaid Mohammed Al-Mutairi 8,141
Mohammad Awadh Al-Ruqaib 7,970
Mubarak Hammoud Al-Tasha 7,707
Bader Sayyar Al-Shammari 7,557
Saad Ali Al-Rusheedi 7,188
Fayez Ghanam Al-Jamhour 7,120
Mubarak Haif Al-Hajraf 6,925
Mohammed Hayef Al-Mutairi 6,473
Fifth Fahad Falah Al-Azmi 16,469
Hamdan Salem Al-Azmi 14,211
Mutib Nasser Al-Sahali 11,055
Saud Abdulaziz Al-Hajri 10,643
Bader Zayed Al-Azmi 9,104
Majed Mussaed Al-Mutairi 8,807
Abdullhadi Nasser Al-Ajmi 8,521
Hani Hussein Shams 8,437
Mohammed Musaed Al-Dawsari 7,644
Khaled Mohammad Al-Otaibi 7,343
Source: KUNA (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Reactions

Sheikh Mishal expressed thanks to agencies and officials who were involved in organizing the election.[16] He and Prime Minister Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah also expressed his congratulations to the winners in the election.[17][18]

Adel Al Asoomi, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament, congratulated Sheikh Mishal and the Kuwaiti government for the conduct and result of the election.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Kuwait to hold snap parliamentary elections on April 4". The National. 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  2. ^ "Kuwait to hold polls April 4". kuwaittimes. 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  3. ^ "Kuwait to hold parliamentary elections on April 4, latest round of voting in years of turmoil". Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  4. ^ Electoral system Inter-Parliamentary Union
  5. ^ "Kuwait polls: Opposition makes gains, gov't resignation accepted". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  6. ^ "مجلس الأمة: أقر 'الدوائر الخمس' ب60 صوتا مقابل اثنين".
  7. ^ "كونا : 834733 ناخبا وناخبة يحق لهم التصويت بانتخابات مجلس الأمة (أمة 2024) - برلمان - 13/03/2024".
  8. ^ "قانون «حرمان المسيء» في سطور".
  9. ^ "255 مرشحاً يخوضون انتخابات «أمة 24»". 13 March 2024.
  10. ^ "محمد جوهر حيات يترشح لانتخابات مجلس الأمة 2024 عن الدائرة الأولى". 3 March 2024.
  11. ^ "محمد المطر مرشحاً لـ«حدس» في الدائرة الأولى". 28 February 2024.
  12. ^ "د. بدر الداهوم يعلن ترشحه لانتخابات مجلس الأمة 2024 عن الدائرة الخامسة". 4 March 2024.
  13. ^ "إغلاق باب الترشح للبرلمان الكويتي".
  14. ^ "Kuwait Holds Parliamentary Elections as Emir Urges Voters to Make 'Sound' Choice". Asharq al-Awsat. 4 April 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Few changes after Kuwait holds first parliamentary election under new emir". Al Jazeera. 5 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Kuwait Amir thanks organizers of Nat'l Assembly elections". KUNA. 5 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Kuwait Prime Minister congratulates new Members of Parliament". KUNA. 5 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Kuwait Amir congratulates new Members of Parliament". KUNA. 5 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Arab Parliament Speaker congratulates Kuwait leadership on parliamentary election success". KUNA. 5 April 2024.