State of Kuwait: National Assembly, 26 November 2016

At stake in this election:

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

Note on the results: Political parties are illegal in Kuwait, thus all candidates run in their respective district as independents. Coalitions are often formed in the place of political parties. The "Opposition" coalition consisting of liberals, Sunni Islamists, the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafists and youth groups won 24 of the 50 seats. The coalition of "government supporters" including tribalists, Shiites and women won the remaining 26 seats. 

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister JABIR AL-MUBARAK al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 30 November 2011)
• Assembly: Kuwait has a unicameral Majlis al-Umma (National Assembly) composed of 65 seats with members serving 4-year terms.

Description of electoral system:

• For the National Assembly, 50 members are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 15 ex-officio members are appointed by the prime minister.

Last Election:

• Elections for the National Assembly were last held on 27 July 2013. There are no political parties in Kuwait and all candidates run independently.

Note: Elections were originally scheduled for June 2017, but the Amir dissolved parliament and called for elections to be held early.

Main parties in the election:

There are no official political parties in Kuwait and all candidates for office stand as independents. There are, however, various interest groups that function similar to political parties, such as Islamists, secular liberals, and tribal factions.

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 2,832,776 (July 2016 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 439,911 (2013)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,177,492 (July 2016 est.)

·         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: 2 (4.00%)

·         Human Development Index Position: 48

·         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: 424,916 (est.)