Abdulwahed Al-Awadhi (born 1955) is a Kuaiwti politician. He was a member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, representing the first district.
Born in 1955, Al-Awadhi studied Aviation at the US Marine Academy. Afterwards, he served in the Kuwaiti Air Force and fought in Kuwait's Liberation War against Saddam Hussein in 1991.
Elected to the National Assembly in 2003, 2006, and 2008. Al-Awadhi is considered to an Independent member with liberal-leaning views.
Al-Awadhi was appointed as a Minister of Housing, Minister of Communications, and Acting Minister of State for Affairs of the National Assembly in his 2008 term as the representative of Elected Parliament Members in the Government.
In 2004, there was a push by the Kuwaiti (Lolowa abdulaziz saleh al abdulwahed )parliament to reorganized Kuwait's voting districts. At the time, each of Kuwait's twenty-five districts had only about 10,000 voters. The plan was to cut down on vote-buying by reorganizing Kuwait into five districts with about 50,000 voters each. Although the redistricting reforms eventually went through, the Emir initially opposed them. At that time, Al-Awadhi stood with the Emir and against the majority in parliament, saying "I don't believe reducing the number will eliminate electoral malpractices such as vote buying and bribery. These violations should be dealt with using other effective methods rather than reducing the number of constituencies". [1]
On 9 September 2007, Kuwait Airways' board of directors, headed by ruling family member Sheikh Talal Mubarak al-Sabah, resigned following differences with the government over a multi-billion-dollar deal to buy new aircraft. In July, Al-Awadhi had accused the corporation of squandering public funds and led the parliament to approve a recommendation by a three-MP inquiry committee, which called for top airline executives to be referred to the public prosecutor over alleged financial and administrative irregularities. [2]
In representative electoral systems, gerrymandering is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The manipulation may involve "cracking" or "packing". Gerrymandering can also be used to protect incumbents. Wayne Dawkins, a professor at Morgan State University, describes it as politicians picking their voters instead of voters picking their politicians.
Kuwait is an emirate. The Emir of Kuwait, a hereditary monarch from the Al Sabah ruling family appoints the prime minister and other members of government, as well as members of judicial, police and financial institutions.
The National Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Kuwait. The National Assembly met in Kuwait City. The National Assembly is made up of 50 elected members and 16 directly appointed government ministers.
Elections in Kuwait are held for the National Assembly. Kuwait's constitution calls for elections to the unicameral National Assembly at a maximum interval of four years. Elections were held earlier if the Constitutional Court or Emir dissolve the parliament.
General elections were held in Kuwait on 29 June 2006. They were the first elections in Kuwait in which women were able to vote and run for office.
Early general elections were held in Kuwait on 17 May 2008 after the Emir Sabah Al-Sabah dissolved the National Assembly of Kuwait on 19 March 2008 over constant clashes between the government and the elected MPs. The last elections were held less than two years previously and saw a loose alliance of reformists and Islamists gain almost two thirds of the seats.
Musallam Al-Barrak is a Kuwaiti politician. He was a member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly representing the fourth district.
Saleh Ashour is a former member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly who represented Constituency One from 1999 until 2020 and again in 2022.
Waleed Al-Tabtabaie is a former member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly representing the third district. Born on April 4, 1964, Al-Tabtabaie obtained a PhD in Islamic studies from Al-Azhar and was an assistant professor at Kuwait University before being elected to the National Assembly in 1996. Al-Tabtabaie affiliated with the Islamist deputies.
The first bill which would have given women the right to vote in Kuwait was put to the parliament in 1963. It was ultimately overturned due to pressure from the Al Sabah ruling family. Bills continued to be denied through 1985 and 1986. Kuwait then became heavily involved in the Iraq-Iran war, and women began demanding recognition for their efforts in keeping their families and society functional. The parliament agreed and the first woman was finally appointed as the ambassador of the Persian Gulf in 1993. In 1996, 500 women stopped working for an hour to show solidarity in their right for suffrage, and demonstrations continued throughout the next 6 years. In May 1999 a decree that allowed women the right to vote and run for office was issued by the emir; however, it was overruled again by the parliament 6 months later.
Early general elections were held in Kuwait on 16 May 2009, the country's third in a three-year period. Kuwait had voted on six occasions between 1991 and 2009. The turnout rate was 50%. The election was notable in that four women were elected for the first time since Kuwait gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961.
The Kuwaiti protests refers to the series of 2011–2012 demonstrations for government reforms in the state of Kuwait. In November 2011, the government of Kuwait resigned in response to the protests, making Kuwait one of several countries affected by the Arab Spring to experience major governmental changes due to unrest. The protests began with stateless people (Bedoon).
Early general elections were held in Kuwait on 2 February 2012, the country's second general election in a three-year period. The election's turnout rate was 59%. However, in June 2012 the Constitutional Court declared the elections invalid and reinstated the former parliament. The court said the dissolution of Parliament in December 2011 by Emir Sabah Al-Sabah was unconstitutional. In response, opposition MPs resigned from parliament and demanded a full parliamentary system.
Early general elections were held in Kuwait on 1 December 2012 after early elections in February 2012 were declared invalid.
Early general elections were held in Kuwait on 27 July 2013. The elections were required after the Constitutional Court dissolved Parliament and annulled the results of the December 2012 elections. Voter turnout was an estimated 52.5%, which was higher than expected despite an opposition boycott, and only 7% lower than the non-boycotted February 2012 elections.
Aseel al-Awadhi is a former member of the National Assembly of Kuwait. She was a professor of philosophy at Kuwait University before entering politics. Al-Awadhi first stood for a seat on the National Assembly in 2008, losing the election but gaining the highest number of votes for a female candidate since women were allowed to stand. She was elected representative of Kuwait's Third District in 2009, a post she held until 2012.
Early general elections were held in Kuwait on 26 November 2016. They follow the dissolution of the parliament elected in 2013 by Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in October 2016. Under the constitution, elections must be held within two months. Opposition candidates won 24 of the 50 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was around 70 percent.
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.
Snap general elections were held in Kuwait on 6 June 2023 to elect 50 of the 65 members of the National Assembly. 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.
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.