Kuwait's Cabinet on Monday announced it has set December 5 as the date of the next National Assembly election. The 50-member chamber, created in 1963, is made up of 10 members from five constituencies. The assembly also has 15 non-elected ministers as members. The National Assembly has the power to block bills and question ministers, and the 2016 cohort regularly clashed with Cabinet. The election date comes after the death of Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah in September. His half brother, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, assumed the throne this month and asked the Cabinet to stay in place and prepare for the elections. On October 9, the Parliament unanimously endorsed veteran security chief Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Sabah as Crown Prince after the new emir nominated him. The elections come at a time when Kuwait is facing a liquidity crisis caused by low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, and the government is trying to boost state finances to plug a budget deficit. Fourteen women ran for parliament in 2016, and Safa Al Hashem became the first and only woman so far to be elected. <em><strong>More to follow</strong></em>
