Why is Kuwait holding third parliamentary election in three years?

Political crises undermining hopes for economic reforms to keep pace with neighbouring countries

A member of the electorate casts his vote in last year's parliamentary elections in Kuwait City. AFP

Kuwait is preparing to hold its third parliamentary election in three years following an emiri decree that dissolved the reinstated 2020 national assembly.

Tuesday's election will take place amid a continuing political struggle between the legislative and executive branches of government.

It comes during political crises that undermine hopes for economic reforms to keep pace with neighbouring countries.

Hopes are pinned that these snap elections could end the stalemate although fears persist that voter fatigue could diminish turnout as Kuwaitis head to the polls for the seventh time since 2012.

Here’s everything you need to know about Tuesday's election.

How are Kuwait’s elections structured?

Kuwait is divided into five constituencies, with each electing 10 members of parliament.

Each voter has the right to cast one ballot for one candidate after a decree was approved by the late former emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah in 2012.

Previously, Kuwaitis could vote for four candidates per constituency.

The Kuwaiti National Assembly consists of 50 members elected through direct secret ballot.

A billboard in Kuwait City ahead of the 2023 Kuwait parliament elections. Yasmena Al Mulla for The National

According to Kuwait’s constitution, the term of an elected national assembly is "four Gregorian years from the date of its first meeting”.

But since the first assembly elected after its liberation from Iraq’s invasion in 1991, the country has had 13 elected parliaments, with only three completing full terms in 1992, 1999 and 2016.

Eight assemblies were dissolved by the emir, who has the constitutional power to do so.

Who are Kuwait’s eligible voters and candidates?

Kuwait has 793,646 eligible voters in the 2023 election cycle, up from 602,103 in 2021. Male voters make up 386,751 while women total 406,895, official statistics from Kuwait’s high election committee show.

The 2023 national assembly features 207 candidates, marking the lowest number of candidates since the 1996 elections, after 40 candidates in various constituencies conceded before the ballot papers were printed.

The fourth constituency recorded the highest number of withdrawals at 18, followed by the second with eight, six each in the third and fifth and two in the first.

What happens on election day?

The voting process will last for 12 hours, from 8am to 8pm on Tuesday. Kuwaitis can check their voting district on the Ministry of the Interior’s website, with lists posted at school campuses, where polling usually takes place.

Counting begins immediately after the ballot boxes close at 8pm. The results of each constituency are announced separately by the presiding judge supervising the process in the main committee assigned to each constituency.

Marzouq al-Ghanem, Kuwait's former parliament speaker and current reelection candidate, speaks at a campaign rally ahead of the country's elections in Kuwait City on June 4, 2023. AFP

Who are the leading candidates?

Former parliamentary speaker Marzouq Al Ghanim returned to the 2023 race in the second constituency, after he had chosen not to in the 2022 elections.

If elected, Mr Al Ghanim is expected to run again for the speaker position but some observers expect the role will be beyond his reach. Political analysts believe opposition MPs with whom he has clashed in the past could make gains similar to last year's elections, when veteran MP Ahmed Saadoun was elected to the role of speaker.

Nicknamed the “Godfather of Kuwait’s parliament”, Mr Saadoun was also the speaker in the 2022 assembly before it was annulled by the constitutional court.

Mr Al Saadoun, 89, an MP since the 1970s, will contest the third constituency. He led an opposition bloc that boycotted parliament for a decade but made a strong return last year.

From left, Kuwaiti candidate and former MP Jenan Boushehri, Anoud Al Enezi and Fahima Al Rashedi. AFP

Former minister Jenan Boushehri and Alia Al Khaled, the only two women who won seats in the 2022 elections, are running once again.

Ms Boushehri, who has served as minister for service affairs, for housing and for public works, was one of several MPs who submitted requests to question government ministers while she was in office.