Kuwait elections draw low registration of candidates

Only 104 have announced their candidacy so far, compared to 222 in last year's election

Kuwaiti candidates register for the parliamentary election in Kuwait City. AFP

Far fewer candidates have registered for the parliamentary elections in Kuwait than for the elections held last year.

The number of applicants on Monday reached 104, including two women. That compares with last year's 222 candidates, 12 of whom were women, Kuwait's Interior Ministry said.

Kuwaitis are heading to the polls for the third time in three years following a decree by Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al Sabah to dissolve the National Assembly earlier in the month.

The country has set June 6 as national election day, as polls must be held within two months of parliament's dissolution, according to the constitution.

The parliament, first elected in 2020, was dissolved last year in an attempt to end political feuding between the government and the elected parliament. A vote was held in September, in which the opposition made gains. The results were regarded as the most inclusive in a decade.

But the Constitutional Court in March annulled those results and restored the previous assembly.

The number of former members of parliament who have submitted their candidacy papers stood at 21 on Monday, with outgoing parliament Speaker Marzouq Al Ghanim among those seeking re-election.

Mr Al Ghanim did not run in the 2022 elections, during which political opposition figures made significant gains. He has been involved in a dispute with Kuwait's Prime Minister and the emir's son Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah.

During his speech dissolving parliament last week, Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal said he would dissolve the 2020 parliament “upon the will of the people,” and pledged some “legal and political reforms to help turn the country to a new phase of discipline and legal reference”.

“This also aims to avoid differences and abuse in using power by the executive and legislative authorities and to ensure neutralism and transparency,” he added.