KUWAIT CITY, April 5 – Kuwait voters cast their ballot to elect a new parliament on Thursday, the first polls since Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah assumed power last year, the Anadolu Agency reported.
Polls opened at 12.00 pm (1000 GMT) and will close at midnight (2200 GMT).
Some 834,733 voters are eligible to vote in Thursday’s polls to choose 50 lawmakers in the National Assembly, out of 200 candidates, according to the country’s electoral commission.
There are 13 women running, the lowest figure since 1975.
On Monday, Kuwait’s Emir called on voters to participate in the polls and ignore “those who incite sedition and practices that threaten national unity”, the state news agency KUNA reported.
The Emir issued a decree to dissolve the assembly on Feb 15, citing violations of the country’s Constitution.
Tension often prevails in the relationship between the government and the National Assembly in Kuwait, leading to the former’s resignation or dismissal on several occasions.
