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50 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 59.27% ( 4.03pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Constitution |
 Kuwaitportal |
Snap general elections were held in Kuwait on 6 June 2023 to elect 50 of the 65 members of the National Assembly. [1] The elections took place following the annulment of the results of the 2022 snap elections by the Constitutional Court on 19 March 2023 and the redissolution of the 16th session on 2 May. [2]
During the 16th legislative session, uncooperative MPs and ministers led to multiple no-confidence votes and several government resignations. Actions such as members sitting in ministers' seats in the parliament, [3] led to ministers not attend sessions, which in turn resulted in a member-organized sit-in in the parliament building. [4] This prompted Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad to dissolve parliament on 2 August 2022. [5]
Multiple former MPs and citizens appealed to the Constitutional Court to overturn the dissolution. On 19 March 2023 the court annulled the dissolution, but on 2 May 2023 Al-Ahmad dissolved parliament again. [6]
The 50 elected members of the National Assembly were elected from five ten-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote. [7] Political parties are not officially licensed meaning candidates formally run as independents, although many political groups operate freely as de facto political parties. [8] All Kuwaiti citizens above the age of 21 have the right to vote.
Since 2006 Kuwait has been divided into five multi-member constituencies for the election of members to the unicameral National Assembly. [9] These five electoral districts represent 112 residential areas distributed among the six governorates of Kuwait. Regardless of the amount of electorates, all constituencies directly elects 10 representatives to the National Assembly via plurality vote, for a total of 50 elected members out of 65.
| Constituency | Electorate 2023 [10] | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| First | 99,779 | 10 |
| Second | 90,394 | 10 |
| Third | 137,978 | 10 |
| Fourth | 208,740 | 10 |
| Fifth | 256,755 | 10 |
Any Kuwaiti-born citizen who is 30 years of age on election day, who is able to read and write in Arabic and has not been convicted of a felony or a crime involving breach of honor or trust is eligible to run for office. On 22 June 2016 parliament passed a law banning any citizen who had insulted the emir from running, [11] resulting in several major opposition figures including Musallam Al-Barrak and Bader Al-Dahoum becoming ineligible candidates. All registered candidates need to pay a registration fee of fifty Kuwaiti Dinars (about US$163).
Registration of candidates took place between 5 and 14 May 2023. A total 252 candidates registered to contest the elections. [12] However, the final ballots consisted of 207 candidates after 40 withdrawals and five candidates being excluded, [13] the lowest number of candidates since the 1975 general elections.
Fifteen women registered to run in the 2023 election, lowest since the 2016 election. The two females elected in the annulled 2022 session, Aliya Al-Khaled and Jenan Boushehri, re-ran. Four female candidates ran in the Second and Fourth constituencies, three ran in the First and Third, and only one ran in the most populous constituency, the Fifth. [14]
Pro-Sabah Al-Khalid former MPs, like Obaid Al-Wasmi, alleged that the 2022 election were rigged. [15] They demanded that the government to investigate the large number votes gained by opposition members like Khaled Al-Otaibi, Ahmed Al-Sadoun and Saud Al-Asfoor. [16] Even though no evidence was brought up, it was their explanation for the massive turnover of opposition members in that election.
Opposition members allegedly stated that the annulment of the 2022 election was unconstitutional. Mohammed Al-Mutair appealed to the constitutional court to overturn its decision. [17] They also dismissed allegations that the 2022 election was rigged. [18] Opposition members urged their supporters to not boycott the current election. On 1 May four major opposition members Abdulkarim Al-Kanderi, Muhannad Al-Sayer, Muhalhal Al-Mudhaf and Abdullah Al-Mudhaf decided to run in the election without a campaign headquarter where they could organize daily rallies. [19]
In terms of political groups, Hadas announced that Osama Al-Shaheen, Abdulaziz Al-Saqabi and Hamad Al-Matar were officially representing them in the election. [20] While National Islamic Alliance (Taalof) announced that they had three representatives in the election, Ahmed Lari, Hani Shams and Abdullah Mustafa. [21] Popular Action Bloc leader Musallam Al-Barrak officially supported Bassel Al-Bahrani, Mutib Al-Rathaan and Mohammed Al-Dossari.
Voting took place within 759 committees in 118 schools chosen by the Ministry of Education scattered around the nation. [22] Multiple Kuwaiti NGOs, like the Kuwaiti Journalists Society and the Kuwaiti Transparency Society, observed the 2023 election. [23]
Ministry of Interior announced that they opened a hotline regarding complaints of voter fraud or any vote-buying. [24] On 28 May the Ministry announced that they arrested a network of brokers that helped two candidates to buy votes in the 2023 election. [25] The network involved ten brokers led by a Pakistani immigrant. The brokers bought 600 votes in the Fifth constituency. [26] On 4 June, two days before the election, authorities arrested four candidates and eight voters that sold their votes. [27]
The trend of reducing turnout continued, with the turnout of 59% being four points lower than the previous elections. Opposition reformist lawmakers not tied to the ruling family won a majority of seats. Only one woman, Jenan Boushehri, was elected. [28] Seven Shias were elected compared to nine in 2022. Shiite alliance Taalof kept their 2 seats, while the Shirazi group Justice and Peace Alliance lost all of their seats.
Sunni Islamists took a gain in seats with the Islamic Salafi Alliance getting a third seat. Also unaffiliated salafists Mohammed Hayef and Adel Al-Damkhi keeping their seats from the annulled 2022 session. Salafist Fayez Al-Jamhour returned to parliament after losing in 2022. All three Hadas representatives won in the 2023 elections.
38 members retained their seats from the annulled 2022 session, while two, Marzouq Al-Ghanim and Fayez Al-Jamhour, returned from the dissolved 2020 session. Leading to a rate of change of seats of only 24%. Ten new MPs were elected for the first time. [29] The majority of former members allied with Sabah Al-Khalid and Marzouq Al-Ghanim including Obaid Al-Wasmi, Hamad Al-Harshani, and Sadoon Al-Otaibi lost the election.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Popular Action Bloc | 14,436 | 3.07 | 1 | |
| National Islamic Alliance (Taalof) | 13,649 | 2.90 | 2 | |
| Islamic Salafi Alliance | 13,191 | 2.80 | 3 | |
| Islamic Constitutional Movement | 11,031 | 2.35 | 3 | |
| Justice and Peace Alliance | 4,608 | 0.98 | 0 | |
| Independents | 413,454 | 87.90 | 41 | |
| Total | 470,369 | 100.00 | 50 | |
| Total votes | 470,369 | – | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 793,646 | 59.27 | ||
| Source: alqabas | ||||
The first session of the new National Assembly was scheduled for 20 June. [30] Ahmed Al-Sadoun was elected speaker unopposed, [31] while Mohammed Al-Mutair was elected deputy speaker after getting 32 votes compared to Marzouq Al-Hubaini's 14. [32] On 26 July, the Constitutional Court rejected all appeals regarding the electoral process and results of the 2023 election. [33]
Kuwait is divided into five multi-member constituencies for the election of members to the unicameral National Assembly. These five electoral districts represent 112 residential areas distributed among the six governorates of Kuwait. Each constituency, regardless of population, directly elects 10 representatives to the National Assembly via plurality vote, for a total of 50 members.
Marzouq Ali Mohammed Al-Ghanim is a former speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, representing the second district. Al-Ghanim earned a BSc in mechanical engineering from Seattle University and worked for Boubyan Petrochemical Company before being elected to the National Assembly in 2006. He is the son of Ali al-Ghanim and Faiza al-Kharafi. He was elected Speaker in 2013.
The first constituency of Kuwait is a legislative constituency in Kuwait. Like the other four constituencies in Kuwait, it elects exactly 10 members to the National Assembly via plurality vote. As of 2022, it currently represents twenty residential areas and has an electorate of 100,185. The Hawalli and Capital governates are divided between the first, second and third constituencies.
The second constituency of Kuwait is a legislative constituency in Kuwait. Like the other four constituencies in Kuwait, it elects exactly 10 members to the National Assembly via plurality vote. As of 2022, it currently represents eighteen residential areas and has an electorate of 90,478. The Hawalli and Capital governates are divided between the first, second and third constituencies. The former Speaker of National Assembly, Marzouq Al Ghanim is a member of this district.
The third constituency of Kuwait is a legislative constituency in Kuwait. Like the other four constituencies in Kuwait, it elects exactly 10 members to the National Assembly via plurality vote. As of 2022, it currently represents fifteen residential areas and has an electorate of 138,364. The Hawalli and Capital governates are divided between the first, second and third constituencies.
The fourth constituency of Kuwait is a legislative constituency in Kuwait. Like the other four constituencies in Kuwait, it elects exactly 10 members to the National Assembly via plurality vote. As of 2022, it currently represents twenty-seven residential areas and has an electorate of 208,971. The fourth constituency includes the Jahra and Farwaniya governates.
The fifth constituency of Kuwait is a legislative constituency in Kuwait. Like the other four constituencies in Kuwait, it elects exactly 10 members to the National Assembly via plurality vote. As of 2022, it currently represents thirty-one residential areas and has an electorate of 257,913. The fifth constituency includes the Ahmadi and Mubarak Al-Kabeer governates.
General elections were held in Kuwait on 5 December 2020. Two-thirds of the incumbents lost their seats, including the 2016 parliament's sole woman MP Safa Al Hashem.
Abdulwahab Mohammad Al-Babtain is a politician, who is an elected Member of Parliament of the Kuwait Parliament. As the Kuwaiti General Election 2016 was his first stand for elections, he won the first chair in the third constituency by 3,730 votes.
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Abdulwahab Al-Rushaid is a Kuwaiti economist and politician. He is an elected board member of Kuwait Economic Society and the vice-chairman of the board.
Rakan Yousif Humoud Al-Nisf is a politician, who is an elected Member of Parliament of the Kuwait Parliament. Al-Nisf was first elected in the Kuwaiti General Election 2013, he won the third chair in the second constituency by 2,527 votes. Al-Nisf was also elected in the Kuwaiti General Election 2016 and he won the eighth chair in the second constituency by 1,888 votes.
Parliamentary elections were held in Egypt on 24–25 October and 7–8 November 2020 to elect the House of Representatives. The election resulted in a landslide victory for the Nation's Future Party, winning 316 of the 596 seats.
Municipal elections were held in Kuwait on 21 May 2022 to elect 10 of the 16 members of the Municipal Council. Thirty-eight candidates including one woman ran in eight constituencies. The elections were held in 443 committees distributed over 76 schools. The number of registered voters were 438,283.
General elections were held in Kuwait on 29 September 2022 following the dissolution of parliament by Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. However, the results were annulled by the Constitutional Court on 19 March 2023 after judges ruled that the previous parliament had not been dissolved properly.
The 2023 Kuwaiti National Assembly was the 17th legislative session of the National Assembly. Members were elected on 6 June 2023. The session started on 20 June 2023. The session was dissolved on 15 February 2024 due to Abdulkarim Al-Kanderi allegedly insulting Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad.
Essa Ahmad Al-Kandari is a Kuwaiti politician who has served in the National Assembly since 2023. He is also the current Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of National Assembly & Cabinet Affairs serving since 2013. Al-Kandari is the former deputy speaker of the 2016 National Assembly. He was the former Minister of Communications, Municipality, Housing, Social Affairs & Awqaf.
Snap general elections were held in Kuwait on 4 April 2024 to elect 50 of the 65 members of the National Assembly. The election came after the dissolution of the National Assembly elected in 2023 on 15 February 2024 due to an MP allegedly insulting Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad. The elections were the first to be held during Mishal Al-Ahmad's reign and the fourth election held within four years.
The Kuwaiti political gridlock, ongoing since 2020, is marked by a persistent standoff between the appointed cabinet and the elected parliament in Kuwait. This crisis is set against a backdrop of successive internal succession crises within the ruling Al Sabah family, beginning with the death of Emir Sabah Al Ahmad in 2020. Leadership transitioned to his half-brother Nawaf, who died in 2023, subsequently elevating Mishal Al Sabah to the role of emir. Mishal, the last surviving member of his generation and son of Ahmad Al Jaber Al-Sabah, has yet to appoint a successor.
Thawabit Al-Umma is a Salafi political bloc in Kuwait founded in 2003 and headed by Bader Al-Dahoum. Of the fifty elected members of National Assembly, two seats belong to the bloc.
| Parliamentary elections | |
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| Municipal elections | |
* Constitutional Convention | |
