Kuwait - Parliament Election 2008
The 2008 elections were triggered by a standoff between the government and parliament and sectarian tensions. A string of no-confidence votes in parliament against individual ministers had resulted in four cabinet reshuffles since the last elections. The tension between the parliament and the government resulted from disagreement over the magnitude of public sector pay increases needed to respond to record inflation. The parliament favoured higher increases while the government was reluctant to increase government spending.
The resignation of the Kuwaiti cabinet on 17 March 2008 provoked the fifth parliamentary dissolution in Kuwait since 1976, and the second since 2006. As such, this dissolution continued a broader trend of political impasse followed by parliamentary dissolution. Despite the suspension of all election-related activities due to the recent death of the former Amir Shaykh Saad Abdullah Al Sabah on May 13 [he had ruled briefly in 2006], voting still took place on 17 May 2008.
On May 17, two months after the emir dissolved the National Assembly, Islamists gained seats in an early parliamentary election that was generally considered free and fair. According to press reports, 35 percent of Kuwaiti citizens were eligible to vote, and this election was the first since the number of electoral districts was reduced from 25 to five in 2006.
There is no formal law banning political parties; however, the government did not recognize any political parties or allow anyone to form political parties. Although the law does not address political parties, they are in effect forbidden. Nevertheless, several well-organized, unofficial blocs, acting much like political parties, existed and were active in National Assembly elections. Assembly candidates must nominate themselves as individuals and may run for election in any of the country's electoral districts. Tribes dominated two of the five constituencies and also exerted influence on the other three.
Despite the absence of official political parties, some of the candidates were endorsed by political groups. These included the Islamic Salafi Alliance and the Islamic Constitutional Movement (better known as "Hadas"), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. Both groups opposed women's empowerment and called for the enforcement of Shari'a law in Kuwait.
The liberal National Democratic Alliance, as well as two Shiite groups - the National Islamic Alliance and the Justice and Peace Alliance - argued in favour of women's participation, as necessary to national progress. The larger electoral districts introduced in the 2008 elections reportedly helped the Shiite minority mobilize supporters, with Shiite groups forming a coalition in some districts. Sunni candidates tended to receive backing from tribal and family ties, rather than political groups.
There were no women in the National Assembly; however, there were two women on the Municipal Council, and the ministers of education and housing and of state for development affairs were women.
As widely predicted, both Shi'as and Salafis gained parliamentary seats in the Kuwaiti May 17 elections. Shi'a did not make the gains they desired, but the background of those elected was significant. Four of the five are hardliners and their election underscores an increasingly important sectarian political line in Kuwait.
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