Opposition Takes Nearly Half the Seats in Kuwait Parliamentary Elections

Opposition lawmakers took 24 of the 50 seats in Kuwait’s National Assembly, and no women were elected to the country’s parliament in elections held over the weekend. The results were announced on Sunday. There had been 29 female candidates out of a total of 300 candidates for the parliament. Thirty-one new lawmakers will take their seats in the new parliament. It is the first election since Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah became the country’s new emir in September. Prime Minister Sabah Khalid al-Sabah submitted his government’s resignation on Sunday. The emir chooses the prime minister and 15 of the 16 cabinet posts. The country currently is facing one of its worst economic crises in history, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lower price of oil. The new parliament is scheduled to meet next week.