Kuwaitis elect representatives Dec. 5

KUWAIT, Dec 3 (KUNA) -- The Kuwaiti people will be electing 50 parliament members (MPs) from five constituencies to represent them in the 16th legislative session of the National Assembly.
Hundreds of thousands of eligible voters will cast ballots on December 5 to select 50 representatives out of hundreds of candidates. Up to 395 people registered for elections at the Ministry of Interior, of them 33 females.
The Kuwaiti people practiced different types of democracy through what is known as Shura, or consultations, with their rulers regarding affairs of the state, long before the first National Assembly elected after the 1961 independece.
Kuwait is known to have "diwaniyas," places of assembly for people either from one or multiple family members, or friends, to discuss affairs of the State in complete transparency and freedom of expression.
The first Municipal Council was elected in 1930, consisting of 11 members. This was followed by election of departments of knowledge, health and awqaf.
In 1938, the ruler and people of Kuwait agreed to establish a council with a mandate of running affairs of the State. Elections were held and 14 people out of 20 candidates won the elections. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah was chosen as head of the council.
Late Amir Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem signed, following independence, a decree on August 26, 1961 to hold elections for the Constituent Assembly.
Elections were held on January 20, 1962 and people elected 20 members, who were joined by 11 ministers with a mandate of writing a constitution to organize the affairs of the State alongside obligations and duties of citizens.
The first parliamentary elections were held on January 23, 1963. Elections saw 250 candidates running for 50 seats. There were 16,889 eligible voters distributed over 10 constituencies. The first session was held on January 29, and the last was on January 3, 1967.
Elections for the second legislative session were held on January 25, 1967, which saw 220 candidates and 27,296 eligible voters. The National Assembly held its first session on February 7, 1967 and the last on December 30, 1970.
Elections for the third legislative session were held on January 23, 1971, when 40,649 eligible voters selected their representatives out of 180 candidates. The first session was held on February 10 and the last was on January 8, 1975.
Elections for the fourth legislative session were held on January 27, 1975. These saw 256 candidates and number of eligible voters increased to 52,994. The first parliamentary session was held on February 11 and the concluding session on August 29, 1976.
Elections for the fifth legislative session were held on February 23, 1981. There were 477 candidates with 42,008 eligible voters distributed over 25 constituencies. The first session was held on March 9, 1981 and the last on January 19, 1985.
February 20, 1985 witnessed elections for the sixth legislative session, where 56,845 eligible voters were selecting their representatives out of 231 candidates from 25 constituencies. The first session was held on March 9. This house was dissolved on July 3, 1986.
On April 22, 1990, the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah signed a decree to establish the National Council. Elections were held on June 10. Eligible voters were 62,123. The late Amir signed a decree on June 28 to appoint 25 members in the National Council.
The National Council came to a halt on August 2, 1990, the day Iraq invaded and occupied the State of Kuwait. The first session of the National Council was held on July 9, 1991 and the last on August 1, 1992.
Elections were held for the 7th legislative session on October 5, 1992, in which 81,440 eligible voters selected their representatives out of 278 candidates. The first session was on October 20 and the last was on October 5, 1996.
October 7, 1996 witnessed elections for the 8th legislative session, Candidates were 230 and eligible voters were 107,169. The first session was on October 20. This National Assembly was dissolved on May 4, 1999.
Elections were held for the 9th legislative session on July 3, 1999. There were 288 candidates and 112,882 eligible voters distributed over 25 constituencies. The inauguration session was held on July 17 and the last was on May 31, 2003.
Elections for the 10th legislative session was held on July 5. Up to 264 candidates were running for the house, and there were 136,715 voters. The inauguration session was on July 19 and the last was on May 21, 2006.
June 29 saw elections for the 11th legislative session, where 327,287 eligible voters selected their representatives out of 288 candidates. The first session was on July 12. Thie house was dissolved on March 19, 2008.
On May 17, 2008, elections were held for the 12th legislative session with 275 candidates running and number of eligible voters increased to 361,684. Number of constituencies were reduced from 25 to five. The inaugural session was held on June 1. This parliament was dissolved on March 18, 2009.
Elections for the 13th legislative session were held on May 16, 2009, where 210 candidates were running. There were 384,790 eligible voters. The inaugural session was on May 31. The house was dissolved on December 6, 2011.
Elections for the 14th legislative session were held on July 27, 2013, which saw 321 candidates and 439,715 eligible voters. The first session was held on August 8 and the National Assembly was dissolved on October 16, 2016.
The elections for the 15th legislative sesseion were held on November 26, 2016. Number of voters increased to 483,186 and candidates running for the 50 seats were 293. The inaugural sesseion was on December 23 and the last was on October 20, 2020. (end) abd.bs