Kuwaitis elect the National Assembly amid optimism about the next stage

Yesterday, Tuesday, Kuwaitis cast their votes to elect members of the National Assembly in the seventh legislative elections to be held in the country since 2012, in which various political currents and forces compete, amid optimism about the next stage. More than 793 thousand voters were invited to the polls to choose 50 deputies for a 4-year term in a country that enjoys an active political life, and its parliament enjoys wide legislative powers and witnesses fierce debates in many cases. The 118 polling stations opened their doors at eight in the morning local time, and closed at eight in the evening, according to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), with the results to be announced on Wednesday morning. In a polling station designated for women in the Jabriya area near the capital, Maasoumeh Ashour Boufar, 64, told AFP after casting her vote while sitting in a wheelchair: “I came to exercise my patriotic duty and I hope things will improve.” There was a calm atmosphere in the morning in front of the center, and no banners or pictures of candidates were raised, and the delegates who usually come to encourage voters to vote for the candidates they represent were absent. 207 candidates, including 13 women, are running in the elections, which is the lowest number of candidates in legislative elections in Kuwait since 1996. The opposition will participate in the electoral process for the second time since it ended its boycott of the legislative elections in 2022. Fearing a large abstention from participating in the ballot, the authorities posted banners Large crowds in the streets of the capital to call on citizens to vote massively in the second elections in two years after the dissolution of the previous parliament, following disputes between the executive and legislative branches. In early April, a new government, the seventh in 3 years, saw the light, less than 4 months after the resignation of the previous government following a political crisis with Parliament, but a few days later the Emir of Kuwait dissolved Parliament and called for new legislative elections after the judicial authorities nullified the results of the legislative elections. Which took place last year and won by the opposition. Kuwaiti political specialist Ayed Al-Manna believes that “the repeated dissolution and annulment of (parliament) has caused exhaustion among Kuwaitis and a feeling of boredom among them.” The confrontation between the executive authority and parliament has impeded the reforms needed by the Kuwaiti economy, which wants to diversify its resources, a situation that contrasts with the neighbors of the other five members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which are the last countries in projects to diversify their economies and attract foreign investors.