Elections

Kuwait held elections for Parliament seats at the beginning of February. The Emir called for new elections due to numerous corruption allegations. I've linked to the BBC's article about it at the end of the post. They can do it more succinct justice than I can.



Before the election, candidates set up these large tents called diwaniya's. They can be very nice inside: rugs, tables, coffee, sadu cushions to sit on and everything! Sorry, no pictures of the sadu cushions :( I didn't go in any, just drove by them daily. People go to the diwaniya's and talk with the candidates (possibly with their friends/representatives as well...again, I didn't go in, so I'm not sure).



Candidates have billboards. I am assuming they display their religious status (Shia or Sunni) but I really don't know. I don't read Arabic. I do know how to say a few choice words though!


Women can run, and have held seats before. In this election no women won. There have been women in Parliament in the past, but I'm not sure if there any currently.


From what I understand, people are selected according to their tribe. They then run against other members of that tribe to become the candidate for their district. One of my students tried explaining it to me, but I get lost in the talk of the tribes (basically where their ancestors are from - I think...).

From what I have gathered, the Sunni's won more seats in this election, and that they are the more conservative Muslims.

I really do recommend you read the article. It might help my run-on / grammatically incorrect sentences make more sense.

What does this mean for me? Perhaps more conservative actions taken by the government in regards to regulating schools. Perhaps not. It's too soon to tell, but I'll let you know!

Click Here for the BBC News Coverage of the Election