Polls open for Kuwait elections
Sat, 17 May 2008 10:00:00
Kuwaitis have started casting votes to elect a new parliament after political turmoil resulted in dissolving two parliaments in as many years.
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Kuwaitis have started casting votes to elect a new parliament after political turmoil resulted in dissolving two parliaments in as many years.
Kuwaitis voted to elect a 50-seat parliament, the second in two years, after a series of disputes between MPs and the government held up development in this wealthy OPEC member.
A total of 275 candidates are standing in the elections, which will be contested under a new system in which the number of constituencies has been cut from 25 to five, a demand which united the opposition in the June 2006 polls.
The candidates include 27 women, the same number of female hopefuls as in the previous election.
Women are standing and voting for only the second time. No female candidate won a seat in the last polls, AFP reported.
About 361,700 people are eligible to vote in a country with a native population of just over one million. The voting age is 21 and servicemen in the police and army are banned from taking part in the ballot.
The polls open at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) and will close 12 hours later, with the first results expected early on Sunday as ballot papers are still counted manually.
Parliament in oil-rich Kuwait, which is elected for a four-year term, has legislative and monitoring powers and can vote ministers out of office. Unelected ministers become ex-officio members of parliament.
MSH/GM
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Article by:
PressTv
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