At stake in this election:

• 50 seats in the National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Emir SABAH Al-Ahmad Al-Jabar Al-Sabah
• Head of Government: Prime Minister JABER Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah
• Assembly: Kuwait has a unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma) with 65 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The Emir is hereditary head of state.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch.
• In the National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma), 50 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 15 members are designated ex officio to serve 4-year terms.***

*** Elected members come from five 10-seat districts. Previously, Kuwaitis were able to vote for four of 10 MPs elected in each of the five constituencies, but in October 2012 it was reduced to one, via an amendment to the electoral law. Each voter may now choose only one candidate. The 10 highest vote-winners gain seats in each district. Ex officio members are from the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the Prime Minister with the consent of the Emir.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Independent(s): Non-Partisans*
  Leader: N/A
  Seats won in last election: N/A

* Political parties are not legalized in Kuwait, and candidates run independently. However, there are at least 12 different political blocs in parliament that perform functions of political parties.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,419,581 (2012)
• Registered Voters: 400,296 (February 2012)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,500,240 (2012)

·         Is Kuwait a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Kuwait ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (2 September 1994) 

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 3 (following the 2012 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 48 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Kuwait a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Kuwait ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (22 August 2013)

·         Population with a disability: 512,937 (est.)