Kuwait Election Delivers All-Male Parliament

  • 12/7/2020
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Kuwaits new parliament will be led by an all-male contingent, according to elections results posted on Sunday. Of some 326 candidates vying for the 50-member legislature in the oil-rich Gulf state, 29 candidates were women, none of whom managed to win their races. It is the first time since 2012 that there will not be a female lawmaker in parliament, as the only female that held a post in the legislature also lost her race. Women have been eligible to vote in Kuwait for just 15 years. Lulwa Saleh Al-Mulla, head of the Kuwaiti Womens Cultural and Social Society, felt the election results were bittersweet. She said was hopeful about the new younger members in parliament, but disappointed by the lack of womens representation. "Still, the people participated positively in the polls for change and toppled some of the corrupt elements that distorted the image of democracy and abused their positions in the assembly," Mulla said. Saturdays election was the first under new ruler Nawaf al-Ahmad Al Sabah, who took office in September, succeeding his half-brother, the late emir Sabah. The new assembly is due to meet on Dec. 15, state news agency KUNA reported. An Amiri Decree was issued on Sunday, calling on the newly elected National Assembly to hold the first regular session of the 16th legislative term on December 15. Emir Sheikh Nawaf on Sunday accepted the resignation of the cabinet of Prime Minister Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah in a routine procedure following the elections. The emir will appoint a premier to select a new cabinet.

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