| Revision as of 03:47, 13 April 2014 edit31.6.53.85 (talk) Neutrally phrased now.← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:51, 13 April 2014 edit undoDrmies (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Checkusers, Oversighters, Administrators407,642 edits Reverted 1 edit by 31.6.53.85 (talk): NO NO NO. sheesh. " the Kuwaiti government manipulated the results" cannot be said in "our" voice. come on now--pretend to be neutral. (TW)Next edit → | ||
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| The ] was ratified in 1962 and has elements of a presidential and a parliamentary system of government. The ] is the head of State and has the power to appoint the Prime Minister. Both the Emir and judicially independent Constitutional Court have the authority to dissolve the parliament. | The ] was ratified in 1962 and has elements of a presidential and a parliamentary system of government. The ] is the head of State and has the power to appoint the Prime Minister. Both the Emir and judicially independent Constitutional Court have the authority to dissolve the parliament. | ||
| The Kuwaiti parliament (per article 3 of the Constitution) has the constitutional right to approve and disapprove of an Emir's appointment, therefore the parliament has the authority to remove an Emir from his post. The parliament effectively removed Saad al-Sabah from his post in 2006 due to his illness |
The Kuwaiti parliament (per article 3 of the Constitution) has the constitutional right to approve and disapprove of an Emir's appointment, therefore the parliament has the authority to remove an Emir from his post. The parliament effectively removed Saad al-Sabah from his post in 2006 due to his illness. | ||
| The Constitution expressly supports political organizations, but they remain illegal as no law has arisen to define and regulate them. MPs tend to serve as Independents or as members of some loose affiliation or faction based on philosophy, sect, class or clan. | |||
| ==Electoral gerrymandering== | |||
| From the years ] until June ], Kuwait was divided into 25 electoral constituencies due to ].<ref name=do>{{cite web |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=KzHXkqcz6jAC&pg=PA191&dq|title=The Middle East in 2015|page=191}}</ref><ref name=rg>{{cite web |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=KFIjdhjEMe4C&pg=PA16&dq|title=The Report: Kuwait 2011|page=16}}</ref> Kuwait's electoral districts were split into 25 constituencies in order to over-represent the government's supporters (tribal people).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asafas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kias/pdf/kb4_1and2/08hiramatsu.pdf|title=The Changing Nature of the Parliamentary System in Kuwait: Islamists, Tribes, and Women in Recent Elections|page=63 & 70}}</ref><ref name="do"/> In July 2006, a new law for electoral reforms was approved which prevented electoral gerrymandering by cutting the number of voting constituencies from 25 to 5.<ref name="rg"/> | |||
| Citizens who have reached the age of 21 years, are not in the military and have not been convicted of a crime, can vote. Parliamentary candidates must be eligible to vote and at least 30 years old. | |||
| In ], the Kuwaiti government manipulated the results by ], miscounts and other irregularities in order to decrease the influence of the liberal opposition.<ref name="do"/><ref name=gulf>{{cite web |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=D8di8GN_hKsC&pg=PA88&dq|title=Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar|page=88}}</ref> | |||
| ==Elections== | ==Elections== | ||
| Line 50: | Line 49: | ||
| Due to corruption allegations against previous Prime Minister ] and mounting pressure from the parliament and numerous ], the government resigned on 28 November 2011. Parliament was dissolved and early elections called for the early spring of 2012. | Due to corruption allegations against previous Prime Minister ] and mounting pressure from the parliament and numerous ], the government resigned on 28 November 2011. Parliament was dissolved and early elections called for the early spring of 2012. | ||
| Liberals won 9 |
Liberals won 9 seats.<ref name=bb>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16869108 |title=Kuwait election: Islamist-led opposition makes gains |work=]|date=February 3, 2012|quote=Liberals won nine seats, while women did not win any.}}</ref> The opposition bloc won 34 out of 50 seats in the parliament.<ref name="bb" /> The opposition bloc is a loose coalition of liberals, Islamists, secular nationalists, populists, tribes and a few Shiites. Sunni Islamists and tribes combined won 23 seats.<ref name="bb" /> | ||
| {{Kuwait parliamentary election, 2012}} | {{Kuwait parliamentary election, 2012}} | ||
Revision as of 23:51, 13 April 2014
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Kuwait's government is a constitutional monarchy.
Constitution
The Constitution of Kuwait was ratified in 1962 and has elements of a presidential and a parliamentary system of government. The Emir is the head of State and has the power to appoint the Prime Minister. Both the Emir and judicially independent Constitutional Court have the authority to dissolve the parliament.
The Kuwaiti parliament (per article 3 of the Constitution) has the constitutional right to approve and disapprove of an Emir's appointment, therefore the parliament has the authority to remove an Emir from his post. The parliament effectively removed Saad al-Sabah from his post in 2006 due to his illness.
The Constitution expressly supports political organizations, but they remain illegal as no law has arisen to define and regulate them. MPs tend to serve as Independents or as members of some loose affiliation or faction based on philosophy, sect, class or clan.
Citizens who have reached the age of 21 years, are not in the military and have not been convicted of a crime, can vote. Parliamentary candidates must be eligible to vote and at least 30 years old.
Elections
The Parliament consists of fifty members who are elected in districts using the first past the post voting method. The major factions, de facto parties, are as follows;
- National Democratic Alliance - Secular, neo-liberal faction. Has its own TV channel, Nabeeha Tahalof, and publishes the daily newspaper Al-Jarida.
- Democratic Foundation of Kuwait - is a leftist political faction which is composed of social democrats, pan Arabs and liberals. The faction operate a weekly newspaper called Al-Talea. Its candidates are usually backed by the Youth Association of Kuwait, its de facto youth arm.
- Popular Action Bloc - Secular nationalists, populists and progressives. Tend to focus on a populist issues, i.e. funding for housing.
- Hadas - Sunni Islamists. Commonly known as the Islamic Constitutional Movement and has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
- National Islamic Alliance - Moderate Shia Islamists, focus on Arabist issues.
- Justice and Peace Alliance - Shia liberals and moderates.
- Independents - No affiliation and tend to be liberals and supportive of the ruling family.
National Issues
Two contentious issues, leading to six different elections between 1991–2008, involve issues pertaining to the electoral process and involvement of the ruling family in the government. The exclusion of women from the electoral process, prior to 2005, the minimum voting age of 21 and the fact that parties are still illegal, are also frequent points of contention.
2006 Election
An early election was called in 2006 as disputes over the redistricting of legislative districts and dislike of the Prime Minister, led to the parliament being dissolved and new elections being called. The turnout rate was 66.4%.
A coalition of liberals and populist nationalists (Popular Action Bloc) won 18 seats, becoming the largest political bloc in the parliament. Sunni Islamists won 16 seats. Most of the 13 liberal Independent candidates who won, were expected to side with the ruling family and the remaining seats were won by a Shiite populist faction. Template:Kuwait parliamentary election, 2006
2008 Elections
Protests over the election law, lead to another early election being called in 2007. Along with charges of electoral fraud, concerns about high inflation was also a major campaign issue. This time the Sunni Islamists gained four seats, the Shitte populists gained no seats, the Neoliberals lost a seat and the Independents lost three seats. The ongoing protests over election laws and the power of the ruling family led to another early election.
2009 Elections
Independents won 20 seats. Sunni Islamists won 11 seats, liberals won at least 8 seats and Shias won 9 seats. The Popular Action Bloc won 2 seats. Template:Kuwait parliamentary election, 2009
2012 Elections
Due to corruption allegations against previous Prime Minister Nasser Al-Sabah and mounting pressure from the parliament and numerous protests, the government resigned on 28 November 2011. Parliament was dissolved and early elections called for the early spring of 2012.
Liberals won 9 seats. The opposition bloc won 34 out of 50 seats in the parliament. The opposition bloc is a loose coalition of liberals, Islamists, secular nationalists, populists, tribes and a few Shiites. Sunni Islamists and tribes combined won 23 seats. Template:Kuwait parliamentary election, 2012
2013 Elections
Elections were held in July 27, 2013. Voter turnout was an estimated 52.5%, which was higher than expected despite an opposition boycott, the voter turnout was only 7% lower than the turnout of the non-boycotted February 2012 elections (59%). Liberals were the biggest winners of the election.
According to the Associated Press, liberal lawmakers gained at least six seats. The Congressional Research Service reported that liberals won 9 seats, making them the largest political bloc in the parliament after pro-government Independents. Fox News reported that the tribal bloc won at least 10 seats in the 50-member parliament. Two women were elected. The Shia group was reduced to eight seats after winning 17 seats in December 2012. Sunni Islamists won 3 seats. Template:Kuwait parliamentary election, 2013
See also
- See also Elections in Kuwait
- Military of Kuwait
- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
- United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (April 1991- October 2003)
- Kuwait–Iraq barrier
- United States military casualties of war
- Bani Utbah
- History of Kuwait
- Utub
- List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
- List of kings of Iraq
- Hashemite
- Anizzah
References
- "Kuwait - Majles al-Ommah (National Assembly) - Elections in 2009". International Parliamentary Union. 2009. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Kuwait election: Islamist-led opposition makes gains". BBC News. February 3, 2012.
Liberals won nine seats, while women did not win any.
Cite error: The named reference "bb" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - Suliman Al-Atiqi (September 12, 2013). "One Man, One Vote". Carnegie Endowment.
As a result, the divided members of the opposition rendered themselves obsolete as the country witnessed a 52.5 percent voter turnout in the July 2013 election—up from the boycotted 40 percent, and 7.5 percentage points shy of the last non-boycotted election.
- ^ "Kuwait's conservative tribes make election gains". Associated Press. 28 July 2013.
Liberal lawmakers seeking greater social and political freedoms gained at least six seats, the results showed.
- ^ "Kuwait: Security, Reform, and U.S. Policy" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. August 30, 2013. p. 10.
- "Kuwait's conservative tribes make gains in parliamentary elections". Fox News. 28 July 2013.
External links
 Elections in Kuwait | |
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| Municipal elections | |
| * Constitutional Convention | |
| Kuwait articles | |||
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