Early general elections were held in
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
on 2 February 2012,
the country's second general election in a three-year period. The election's turnout rate was 59%.
[. One hour before polls closed, 238308/400296=59.53 percent, rounds to 60 percent.] However, in June 2012 the
Constitutional Court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
declared the elections invalid and reinstated the former parliament. The court said the dissolution of Parliament in December 2011 by Emir
Sabah Al-Sabah
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ( ar, الشيخ صباح الأحمد الجابر الصباح, translit=ash-Shaykh Sabāh al-ʾAḥmad al-Jābir aṣ-Ṣabāḥ; 16 June 192929 September 2020) was the Emir of Kuwait and Commander of the Kuwa ...
was unconstitutional. In response, opposition MPs resigned from parliament and demanded a full parliamentary system.
After the dissolution of parliament, a
new election was set for December 2012.
Background
Emir
Sabah Al-Sabah
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ( ar, الشيخ صباح الأحمد الجابر الصباح, translit=ash-Shaykh Sabāh al-ʾAḥmad al-Jābir aṣ-Ṣabāḥ; 16 June 192929 September 2020) was the Emir of Kuwait and Commander of the Kuwa ...
dissolved the
National Assembly of Kuwait
The National Assembly ( ar, مجلس الأمة) is the unicameral legislature of Kuwait. The National Assembly meets in Kuwait City. Political parties are illegal in Kuwait, candidates run as independents. The National Assembly is made up of 50 ...
on 7 December 2011 citing "deteriorating conditions" amid an increasingly bitter political showdown over alleged high-level corruption. Major street
demonstrations
Demonstration may refer to:
* Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting
* Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought
* Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...
, some with crowds numbering in the tens of thousands, had been occurring with greater and greater frequency, forcing the resignation of the government for the second time in less than a year. A group of former government parliamentarians sued to reverse the dissolution, stating that the act was unconstitutional. In response the decree to set the date for the new election was delayed. The election was eventually set for 21 February.
Campaign
While operating within the
Constitution of Kuwait
The Constitution of Kuwait ( ar, الدستور الكويتي, ad-distūr al-Kuwayti, ) was created by the Constitutional Assembly in 1961–1962 and signed into law on 11 November 1962 by the Emir, the Commander of the Military of Kuwait Sheik ...
, opposition candidates are demanding significant reforms, including a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
. Shiite candidate and ex-MP
Hussein al-Qallaf accused the opposition of wanting to share power with the ruling family, which he said would lead Kuwait into a state of chaos.
Candidates
There were 344 candidates, including 24 women, who ran in
five constituencies with ten seats each.
Opinion polls
According to some polls, the opposition may gain as many as 33 seats, up from the 20 seats they held before.
Results
Liberal bloc won 9 seats.
The opposition bloc won 34 out of 50 seats in the parliament.
The opposition bloc is a loose coalition of liberals, Islamists, secular nationalists, populists, tribes, and some Shiite Islamists. Sunni Islamists and tribes combined won 23 seats.
The biggest margin of victory in each constituency was led by:
# Faisal al-Duwaisan with 14,094 votes.
# Jamaan al-Harbash (or ''Jama'an al-Hirbish'') with 8,475 votes.
# Faisal al-Mislem al-Otaibi with 16,383 votes.
# Musallam al-Barrak.
# Falah al-Sawwagh.
Aftermath
Following the elections,
Ahmed Al-Sadoun
Ahmed Abdulaziz al-Sadoun ( ar, أحمد عبدالعزيز السعدون) (born 1934) is the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly from October 2022. He was previously the speaker from 1985 to 1999 and from February 2012 until it was declar ...
was elected
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
, defeating
Mohammed Al-Sager
Mohammed Jassem Al-Sager (born 18 June 1951; ar, محمد جاسم الصقر) is a journalist, businessman, and politician.
Background
Al-Sager received a bachelor's degree in economics from Whittier College (California, US) in 1975. He then w ...
.
References
{{Kuwaiti elections
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
2012 in Kuwait
2012 02
Annulled elections
February 2012 events in Asia