Opposition lawmakers have lifted the majority of seats in Kuwait’s parliament, in its third election held in the last three years.
The snap election on June 6 took place amid an ongoing political crisis that led to repeated dissolution of parliament due to a dispute between the government and lawmakers, affecting financial reforms.
According to the results announced on June 7, opposition politicians won 29 of the legislature’s 50 seats, with 37 lawmakers retaining their seats. In the election, 207 candidates competed for the 50 seats in five constituencies. The remaining 15 seats in the assembly are reserved for the appointed cabinet. Only one woman was elected, who was a member of the annulled 2022 assembly that had two women lawmakers. Voter turnout in the election stood at 51 percent.
The election was called after Kuwait’s constitutional court cancelled the results of last year’s vote in March, and restored the previous 2020 assembly. However, on May 1, the crown prince dissolved the reinstated 2020 assembly.
Kuwait is the only Gulf Arab country to have a democratically elected assembly that exerts some checks on the ruling family. However, in recent years, the political system in the country has been affected by internal disputes, delaying the sanction of even basic reforms.
