By NNN-KUNA,
Kuwait : Kuwaiti men and women will head to polling stations on Saturday to elect 50 out of the 275 candidates running in the elections as their representatives in the National Assembly’s 12th legislative term.
This is the first time that the five-constituency system is applied in the elections, after having been amended from the previous 25 districts, with ten representatives elected from each.
There are 361,684 registered eligible voters, with 161,185 men (44.6 percent) and 200,499 women (55.4 percent).
Of the 275 candidates running in the elections, 27 are women. Women participated in the elections for the first time in 2006, making this the second.
Kuwait’s first elections ever took place on Jan 23, 1963, and with it the country began taking steady steps along its democratic track. At the time, there were 10 constituencies and 16,889 voters. A total of 205 candidates were competing for the 50 parliament seats.
On Dec 16, 1980, an Amiri Decree was issued to redistribute the ten constituencies to 25, and this applied beginning from the fifth legislative term, through to the 11th.
According to article 80 of the constitution and first article of the parliament’s bylaws, the National Assembly is composed of 50 members elected by a secret ballot in accordance with provisions prescribed by the electoral law.
Minister who are not elected members of the National Assembly are considered ex-officio members, and the total number of cabinet members should not exceed 16, or one third of the parliament members.
And according to article 83 of the constitution and the third article of the parliament bylaws, the term of the National Assembly is four calendar years commencing the day of the first sitting.
Elections for the new parliament take place within 60 days preceding the expiry of the said term, with due regard given to provisions of article 107.
Prerogatives of the parliament, or legislative authority, are to pass legislations and monitor the implementation of these legislations by the executive authority, and no law is issued without the approval of the parliament and the endorsement of His Highness the Amir.
These prerogatives revolve around three aspects: legislative, political and financial.
Legislative prerogatives include draft bills, decrees, laws and treaties.
As for the political aspect, it involves decisions and proposals, as well as posing questions to the premier or cabinet members, interpellations, requesting the discussion of certain issues or investigations, and dealing with complaints and concerns filed by the public.
As for financial prerogatives, these include the discussing and endorsement of state budgets and final audits, as well as approving the parliament’s budget.
According to article 31 of electoral law 35/1962, voting begins at 8 am and ends at 8 pm, while according to article 35, head of the electoral committee announces the end of the balloting after the final voter casts his ballot. The committee then begins counting votes, in preparation for the declaration of official results.