Polls Close in Kuwaiti Elections
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| A Kuwaiti woman casts her vote during the country’s parliamentarian elections at a polling station in Salwa, Kuwait City, 16 May 2009 |
The polls have closed in Kuwait where voters cast their ballots in hopes of breaking a political deadlock that is threatening the country’s economy.
But voter turnout appeared to be low. The state-run KUNA news agency said four hours before the polls closed Saturday that less than 40 percent of almost 385,000 eligible voters had cast their ballots.
Kuwaitis were voting for a new 50-member National Assembly to replace the parliament that was dissolved in March by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
It was the second time the emir had disbanded the legislature this year and it followed multiple clashes where members of parliament have accused the ruling-family-dominated Cabinet of corruption.
The political crisis has delayed a vote on a $5 billion economic stimulus package aimed at helping Kuwait’s financial sector during the global financial crisis.
Results are expected early Sunday.
Kuwait has a parliament democracy but the emir retains ultimate authority.
This election also marks only the third time in Kuwait’s history that women can vote and compete for seats in the parliament.
No female candidate has ever won but women’s rights activist Fatima Al-Abdeli, who is running for election, says the poor performance of the previous two parliaments is giving women their best chance to win.
However, some of Kuwait’s political parties are urging women not to vote.
Walid Al-Tabtabaei with the Salafi Islamic party says the new parliament must preserve Kuwait’s cultural identity and that the participation of women in the political process is a violation of the teachings of Islam.
Kuwait is the world’s fourth largest oil producing country.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
