General elections were held in Kuwait on 5 December 2020.[1][2][3] Two-thirds of the incumbents lost their seats, including the 2016 parliament's sole woman MP Safa Al Hashem.[4]
Background
Registration of candidates contesting for the 50 seats of the National Assembly took place between 26 October and 4 November 2020.[5][6] 102 schools were used for the 2020 National Assembly elections on December 5.[7] Each school had a clinic set up to check on the health condition of all those entering.[8]
Electoral system
The 50 elected members of the National Assembly are elected from five 10-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote.[9] Political parties are not officially licensed, therefore candidates run as individuals, although many political groups operate freely as de facto political parties.[10] All Kuwaiti citizens (both male and female) above the age of 21 have the right to vote. Expatriate workers, who constituted 70% of the population, were not enfranchised.
Results
Overall, opposition candidates won 24 seats, up from 16 in the previous parliament. The election was seen as a victory for the anti-government opposition bloc. Thirty of the elected candidates were under the age of 45; whilst there were 29 female candidates, none were elected, leaving the parliament without a female MP for the first time since the year 2012.[10] There was a total of 567,694 registered voters, of which 394,131 cast a valid vote.[11]
