Reformists win, but women lose in Kuwait elections

Kuwait’s first parliamentary elections to see women participate were a victory for political reformists, but a disappointment for female candidates, none of whom won a seat.

Names of winners in yesterday’s public vote published by the state-owned Kuwait News Agency indicated that 36 of those who won seats in the 50-seat house were reformers. Twenty-one of them held seats in the previous parliament that the emir, Kuwait’s ruler, dissolved last month.

For the 27 female candidates, from the 249 hopefuls who ran in the polls, the results were disappointing as none took enough votes to land a seat in the legislature.

The comprehensive vote count had not been released, making it impossible to assess how close any of the women came to a victory.

Several returning politicians said the first order of business for the new parliament should be a bill reducing the number of electoral constituencies to five, which they say would make it almost impossible to buy votes.

The Cabinet had proposed redrawing the 25 constituencies to 10, but many politicians – backed by unprecedented popular support – stormed out of the house in protest accusing the government of procrastinating and a lack of seriousness about reform.

The reformists include fundamentalist Muslims, liberals and independents, marking the first time political foes who have a different vision of Kuwait join forces on one issue. It is not known however, if this alliance will hold. If it does, it will be in a stronger position to implement reform, with 36 members compared to the last parliament when the reformist camp comprised 29 deputies.

Women, newcomers to the political scene of the small oil-rich state, had few weeks to prepare for the vote after the emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, disbanded the house because he believed the dispute over electoral precincts was harming national unity.

Female voters accounted for 57 per cent of the electorate. No official figures on voter turnout have been released.

“Society will need time to accept women,” activist Iqbal al-Ahmed told Kuwait TV late yesterday when initial results showed that most female hopefuls were faring poorly. “I am disappointed,” she said.