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2023 Kuwaiti general election

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2023 Kuwaiti general election
Kuwait
← 2022 6 June 2023 2024 →

50 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly
Turnout59.27% (Decrease 4.03pp)
Party Vote % Seats +/–
Hashd

3.07 1 +1
Taalof

2.90 2 0
Salafi Alliance

2.80 3 +1
Hadas

2.35 3 0
Independents

87.90 41 0
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Snap general elections were held in Kuwait on 6 June 2023 to elect 50 of the 65 members of the National Assembly.[1] The elections took place following the annulment of the results of the 2022 snap elections by the Constitutional Court on 19 March 2023 and the redissolution of the 16th session on 2 May.[2]

Background

[edit]

During the 16th legislative session, uncooperative MPs and ministers led to multiple no-confidence votes and several government resignations. Actions such as members sitting in ministers' seats in the parliament,[3] led to ministers not attend sessions, which in turn resulted in a member-organized sit-in in the parliament building.[4] This prompted Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad to dissolve parliament on 2 August 2022.[5]

Multiple former MPs and citizens appealed to the Constitutional Court to overturn the dissolution. On 19 March 2023 the court annulled the dissolution, but on 2 May 2023 Al-Ahmad dissolved parliament again.[6]

Electoral system

[edit]

The 50 elected members of the National Assembly were elected from five ten-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote.[7] Political parties are not officially licensed meaning candidates formally run as independents, although many political groups operate freely as de facto political parties.[8] All Kuwaiti citizens above the age of 21 have the right to vote.

Constituencies

[edit]

Since 2006 Kuwait has been divided into five multi-member constituencies for the election of members to the unicameral National Assembly. [9] These five electoral districts represent 112 residential areas distributed among the six governorates of Kuwait. Regardless of the amount of electorates, all constituencies directly elects 10 representatives to the National Assembly via plurality vote, for a total of 50 elected members out of 65.

Constituency Electorate
2023[10]
Seats
First 99,779 10
Second 90,394 10
Third 137,978 10
Fourth 208,740 10
Fifth 256,755 10

Candidates

[edit]

Any Kuwaiti-born citizen who is 30 years of age on election day, who is able to read and write in Arabic and has not been convicted of a felony or a crime involving breach of honor or trust is eligible to run for office. On 22 June 2016 parliament passed a law banning any citizen who had insulted the emir from running,[11] resulting in several major opposition figures including Musallam Al-Barrak and Bader Al-Dahoum becoming ineligible candidates. All registered candidates need to pay a registration fee of fifty Kuwaiti Dinars (about US$163).

Registration of candidates took place between 5 and 14 May 2023. A total 252 candidates registered to contest the elections.[12] However, the final ballots consisted of 207 candidates after 40 withdrawals and five candidates being excluded,[13] the lowest number of candidates since the 1975 general elections.

Female Candidates

[edit]

Fifteen women registered to run in the 2023 election, lowest since the 2016 election. The two females elected in the annulled 2022 session, Aliya Al-Khaled and Jenan Boushehri, re-ran. Four female candidates ran in the Second and Fourth constituencies, three ran in the First and Third, and only one ran in the most populous constituency, the Fifth.[14]

Campaign

[edit]

Pro-Sabah Al-Khalid former MPs, like Obaid Al-Wasmi, alleged that the 2022 election were rigged.[15] They demanded that the government to investigate the large number votes gained by opposition members like Khaled Al-Otaibi, Ahmed Al-Sadoun and Saud Al-Asfoor.[16] Even though no evidence was brought up, it was their explanation for the massive turnover of opposition members in that election.

Opposition members allegedly stated that the annulment of the 2022 election was unconstitutional. Mohammed Al-Mutair appealed to the constitutional court to overturn its decision.[17] They also dismissed allegations that the 2022 election was rigged.[18] Opposition members urged their supporters to not boycott the current election. On 1 May four major opposition members Abdulkarim Al-Kanderi, Muhannad Al-Sayer, Muhalhal Al-Mudhaf and Abdullah Al-Mudhaf decided to run in the election without a campaign headquarter where they could organize daily rallies.[19]

In terms of political groups, Hadas announced that Osama Al-Shaheen, Abdulaziz Al-Saqabi and Hamad Al-Matar were officially representing them in the election.[20] While National Islamic Alliance (Taalof) announced that they had three representatives in the election, Ahmed Lari, Hani Shams and Abdullah Mustafa.[21] Popular Action Bloc leader Musallam Al-Barrak officially supported Bassel Al-Bahrani, Mutib Al-Rathaan and Mohammed Al-Dossari.

Conduct

[edit]

Voting took place within 759 committees in 118 schools chosen by the Ministry of Education scattered around the nation.[22] Multiple Kuwaiti NGOs, like the Kuwaiti Journalists Society and the Kuwaiti Transparency Society, observed the 2023 election.[23]

Combating Vote Buying

[edit]

Ministry of Interior announced that they opened a hotline regarding complaints of voter fraud or any vote-buying.[24] On 28 May the Ministry announced that they arrested a network of brokers that helped two candidates to buy votes in the 2023 election.[25] The network involved ten brokers led by a Pakistani immigrant. The brokers bought 600 votes in the Fifth constituency.[26] On 4 June, two days before the election, authorities arrested four candidates and eight voters that sold their votes.[27]

Results

[edit]

The trend of reducing turnout continued, with the turnout of 59% being four points lower than the previous elections. Opposition reformist lawmakers not tied to the ruling family won a majority of seats. Only one woman, Jenan Boushehri, was elected.[28] Seven Shias were elected compared to nine in 2022. Shiite alliance Taalof kept their 2 seats, while the Shirazi group Justice and Peace Alliance lost all of their seats.

Sunni Islamists took a gain in seats with the Islamic Salafi Alliance getting a third seat. Also unaffiliated salafists Mohammed Hayef and Adel Al-Damkhi keeping their seats from the annulled 2022 session. Salafist Fayez Al-Jamhour returned to parliament after losing in 2022. All three Hadas representatives won in the 2023 elections.

38 members retained their seats from the annulled 2022 session, while two, Marzouq Al-Ghanim and Fayez Al-Jamhour, returned from the dissolved 2020 session. Leading to a rate of change of seats of only 24%. Ten new MPs were elected for the first time.[29] The majority of former members allied with Sabah Al-Khalid and Marzouq Al-Ghanim including Obaid Al-Wasmi, Hamad Al-Harshani, and Sadoon Al-Otaibi lost the election.

PartyVotes%Seats
Popular Action Bloc14,4363.071
National Islamic Alliance (Taalof)13,6492.902
Islamic Salafi Alliance13,1912.803
Islamic Constitutional Movement11,0312.353
Justice and Peace Alliance4,6080.980
Independents413,45487.9041
Total470,369100.0050
Total votes470,369
Registered voters/turnout793,64659.27
Source: alqabas

Elected members

[edit]
Constituency Candidate Votes
First Abdullah Jassem Al-Mudhaf 5,815
Osama Zaid Al-Zaid 4,570
Ahmed Haji Larry 3,738
Khaled Marzouq Al-Ameera 3,575
Hassan Abdullah Johar 3,560
Dawood Suleiman Marafi 3,434
Essa Ahmad Al-Kandari 3,185
Hamad Mohammed Al-Medlej 2,888
Osama Essa Al-Shaheen 2,869
Adel Jassim Al-Damkhi 2,731
Second Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim 6,661
Shuaib Shabaan 5,630
Abdullah Turki Al-Anbaie 3,705
Falah Dhahi Al-Hajri 3,265
Mohammad Barrak Al-Mutair 3,091
Abdulwahab Aref Al-Issa 3,031
Bader Nashmi El-Enezi 2,752
Fahad Abdulaziz Al-Masoud 2,652
Hamad Mohammad Al-Matar 2,432
Bader Hamed Al-Mulla 2,360
Third Muhalhal Khaled Al-Mudhaf 7,268
Ahmed Abdulaziz Al-Sadoun 6,325
Abdulkareem Abdullah Al-Kandari 5,878
Muhannad Talal Al-Sayer 5,772
Abdulaziz Tareq Al-Saqabi 5,730
Jenan Mohsen Boushehri 5,048
Hamad Adel Al-Obeid 4,815
Faris Saad Al-Otaibi 4,796
Hamad Abdulrrahman Al-Olayan 4,782
Jarrah Khaled Al-Fouzan 3,633
Fourth Bader Sayyar Al-Shammari 8,487
Mubarak Hammoud Al-Tasha 8,376
Mutib Ayed Al-Thaydi 7,721
Mohammad Awadh Al-Ruqaib 7,196
Mohammed Hayef Al-Mutairi 6,966
Mubarak Haif Al-Hajraf 6,710
Abdullah Fahad Al-Enizi 6,567
Saad Ali Al-Rusheedi 6,228
Fayez Ghanam Al-Jamhour 6,035
Shueib Shabab Al-Muweizri 5,873
Fifth Saud Abdulaziz Al-Hajri 12,784
Hamdan Salem Al-Azmi 10,863
Khaled Mohammad Al-Otaibi 8,028
Hani Hussein Shams 7,644
Marzouq Al-Hubaini Al-Azmi 6,775
Fahad Falah Al-Azmi 6,443
Abdullhadi Nasser Al-Ajmi 6,341
Mohammed Hussain Al-Ajmi 6,324
Majed Mussaed Al-Mutairi 6,245
Mohammad Hadi Al-Huweila 6,188
Source: KUNA (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Aftermath

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The first session of the new National Assembly was scheduled for 20 June.[30] Ahmed Al-Sadoun was elected speaker unopposed,[31] while Mohammed Al-Mutair was elected deputy speaker after getting 32 votes compared to Marzouq Al-Hubaini's 14.[32] On 26 July, the Constitutional Court rejected all appeals regarding the electoral process and results of the 2023 election.[33]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Kuwait sets June 6 date for legislative elections, state news agency reports". Reuters. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Kuwait court annuls 2022 parliamentary election". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  3. ^ "بالفيديو النواب يحتلون مقاعد الوزراء".
  4. ^ "في مقر المجلس يطالبون بحله واتهامات لهم بالتعطيل.. ثلث أعضاء البرلمان الكويتي يبدؤون اعتصاما مفتوحا".
  5. ^ "Kuwait's Crown Prince officially dissolves parliament by decree". 2 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Decree issued to dissolve 2020 National Assembly". May 2023.
  7. ^ Electoral system Inter-Parliamentary Union
  8. ^ "Kuwait polls: Opposition makes gains, gov't resignation accepted". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  9. ^ "مجلس الأمة: أقر 'الدوائر الخمس' ب60 صوتا مقابل اثنين".
  10. ^ "225952 زيادة في عدد الناخبين". 3 June 2023.
  11. ^ "قانون «حرمان المسيء» في سطور".
  12. ^ "252 candidates file nominations to contest polls". 14 May 2023.
  13. ^ "كونا : 207 صافي عدد المرشحين والمرشحات بعد إغلاق باب التنازل لانتخابات (أمة 2023) - عام - 30/05/2023".
  14. ^ "249 مرشحاً في سباق أمة 2023". 14 May 2023.
  15. ^ "الوسمي: انتخابات 2022 مزورة". www.alwasat.com.kw.
  16. ^ "فيديو: د. عبيد الوسمي: سؤال لكل من الأخ أحمد السعدون و سعود العصفور و خالد المونس.. أرقامكم بالتصويت صحيحة ؟ , كل الكويت تعلم أن المسألة لا يمكن أن تكون رقمياً صحيحة". 22 March 2023.
  17. ^ "طعن ببطلان حكم «الدستورية» بإبطال مجلس 2022". طعن ببطلان حكم «الدستورية» بإبطال مجلس 2022. 9 May 2023.
  18. ^ "صحيفة الحقيقة الإلكترونية | سعود العصفور رداً على د. عبيد الوسمي : رقمي صحيح 10 آلاف صوت وأرقام المحكمة الدستورية تطابقت مع المناديب و من لديه مشكلة في رقمه ولا يستطيع التبرير لقواعده يراجع مواقفه السياسية ولا يُشكك و انتخابات 2022 الأكثر نزاهة في تاريخ البرلمان الكويتي". موقع نبض.
  19. ^ "بوادر عزوف عن المقرات الانتخابية في أمة 2023". www.alqabas.com. 2 May 2023.
  20. ^ "حدس تزكي أسامة الشاهين مرشحا عن الدائرة الأولى وحمد المطر عن الثانية وعبد العزيز الصقعبي عن الثالثة". www.alanba.com.kw.
  21. ^ "التآلف الإسلامي يختار مرشحيه لخوض انتخابات 2023 أحمد لاري عن الأولى وعبدالله غضنفر عن الثالثة وهاني شمس عن الخامسة والرابعة قيد الدراسة". www.alanba.com.kw.
  22. ^ "«العدل»: 759 لجنة لانتخابات مجلس الأمة 2023". «العدل»: 759 لجنة لانتخابات مجلس الأمة 2023. 1 June 2023.
  23. ^ "Kuwait NGOs to watchdog next parliamentary vote". 1 June 2023.
  24. ^ الشرهان, محمد (10 May 2023). "«الداخلية»: خط ساخن للإبلاغ عن شراء الأصوات". «الداخلية»: خط ساخن للإبلاغ عن شراء الأصوات.
  25. ^ "الكويت تضبط شبكة لشراء أصوات الناخبين وتكشف "مفتاحا باكستانيا" | الحرة". www.alhurra.com.
  26. ^ "تأكيداً لما نشرته «القبس».. النيابة تأمر بحجز «المفتاح الباكستاني» و10 مواطنين في قضية شراء الأصوات".
  27. ^ "صدور أمر ضبط وإحضار بحق 4 مرشحين في قضية شراء الأصوات".
  28. ^ "Kuwait's election brings little change to parliament or hope of overcoming years of gridlock". AP NEWS. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  29. ^ "10 أعضاء جدد ومقعد واحد للمرأة في مجلس الأمة الجديد بالكويت.. دلالات وتساؤلات".
  30. ^ "Kuwait votes in opposition-led parliament, one woman elected". Agence France-Presse. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023 – via France 24.
  31. ^ "KUNA : Al-Saadoun elected as National Assembly Speaker - Parliamentary - 20/06/2023".
  32. ^ "KUNA : Kuwait Parliament elects MP Al-Mutair as Deputy Speaker - Parliamentary - 20/06/2023".
  33. ^ "كونا : المحكمة الدستورية ترفض جميع الطعون على انتخابات (أمة 2023) - عام - 26/07/2023".