Kuwait will hold parliamentary elections on Thursday, the first since Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ascended the throne in December 2023.
Sheikh Mishal hoped voters would select candidates who would be their best representatives, and hoped future MPs would benefit from past experiences and live up to their national responsibilities.
Two hundred candidates, including 13 women, are running in the National Assembly elections – the 21st in Kuwait’s history. Around 834,000 Kuwaitis are eligible to vote.
The National Assembly is comprised of 50 members. Kuwait has been divided into five electoral districts, with ten MPs representing each.
In a speech on the occasion of the last ten days of the holy fasting month of Ramada, Sheikh Mishal urged voters to select candidates who best represent them.
“Your sound selection is your path for building a future for your nation and the generations,” he added.
“We hope the elections will lead to the formation of an enlightened National Assembly whose members would benefit from previous parliamentary experiences and rise up to their responsibilities,” he went on to say.
He hoped for a heavy turnout, remarking that boycotters would be relinquishing their constitutional right.
Sheikh Mishal hailed all efforts and measures aimed at preserving the national identity, saying an attack against it is an attack on the state.
Moreover, he urged the people to “open a new chapter” and steer clear of “intolerance, personal interests and practices that could threaten national unity.”
This is the second time elections are held during Ramadan. Polling stations will open at 12:00 and close at midnight.
