| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Majles Al-Ommah / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
1 December 2012 |
| Purpose of elections |
A Constitutional Court decision in June 2012 triggered the second parliamentary elections in 2012. The Court invalidated two decrees issued by the Emir in December 2011, which had dissolved the legislature and called new elections for February 2012.
Opposition forces boycotted the December 2012 elections in protest against changes to the electoral law, which they believed would favour pro-government candidates. The government argued the changes would ensure a fairer representation of the people in parliament (see note).
Turnout dropped sharply from 60 per cent in the February 2012 polls to 39 per cent. Sunni candidates saw their share of seats reduced from 23 to seven while the number of Shiite members increased from seven to 15 (Shiites make up around 30 per cent of the population). Three women were elected.
Note:
In September 2012, the Constitutional Court upheld the 2006 electoral law (Law No 42 of 2006) which divides the country into five constituencies, thereby rejecting the Cabinet's request to reinstate the previous electoral law with 25 constituencies. However, on 19 October the Emir issued Decree of law No 20 of 2012 amending the 2006 electoral law, which reduced the number of votes each eligible voter could cast from four to one. The registration fee increased from KD 50 to KD 500. |
Date of previous elections: 2 February 2012
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 7 October 2012
Timing of election: Early elections
Expected date of next elections: December 2016
Number of seats at stake: 50 (full renewal of directly elected seats)
Number of candidates: 387 (372 men, 15 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 3.9%
Number of parties contesting the election: N/A (There are no political parties.)
Number of parties winning seats: N/A
Alternation of power: N/A (monarchy)
Number of parties in government: N/A
Names of parties in government: N/A
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 16 December 2012
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Ali Fahad Al-Rashed |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 1 December 2012 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
422'569
39.7%
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
47
3
6.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
National Assembly (11.12.2012, 17.12.2012, 18.12.2012)
http://www.kuna.net.kw
Note on the number of women
Three women were directly elected in the December 2012 elections. The 16-member Cabinet comprises two women (one minister and one directly elected woman parliamentarian), bringing the total number of women to four out of the full 65 members. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the ELECTIONS IN DECEMBER 2012 module
