Kuwaitis hope election will end bitter political disputes
Opposition has campaigned vehemently for fundamental reforms
Kuwait City: Kuwaitis were casting ballots yesterday in a snap vote to elect the fourth parliament in less than six years, with unofficial polls showing the Islamist-led opposition in the lead.
The vote, which follows a campaign marred by violence, seeks to end political disputes that have hurt the country for years.
Female voters, dressed in clothes ranging from black abayas to western-style jeans, lined up in short queues at voting stations set up for women, as lines of men formed at separate polling booths.
Women voters make up 54 per cent of the electorate and 23 women are among 286 candidates running for the 50-seat legislative body.
Pollsters and analysts expect the 400,000 electorate to deliver a resounding victory for the Islamist-led opposition which has campaigned vehemently for fundamental reforms and against corruption.
Parliament dissolved
The snap poll is taking place after Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah dissolved parliament following unprecedented protests led by youths inspired by the Arab Spring.
The protests led to the resignation of the previous government and former prime minister Shaikh Nasser Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah who was replaced by another senior royal, in a move unprecedented in the oil-rich country.
The elections are being held against a backdrop of heightened sectarian and tribal tensions which this week erupted into violence.
Some voters expressed concern that the election, which comes after one of the fiercest campaigns since democracy was introduced in 1962, would not help return stability.
"Psychologically we are not comfortable because of the bad situation in the country. We are very frustrated and worried about what is happening in Kuwait," said one woman, Umm Saud, after casting her vote at Jabriya, 15 kilometres south of Kuwait City.
"I am not optimistic this election will resolve our problems, but I pray that I am wrong."
Polling opened at 8am and closed 12 hours later, with the first results expected early today as ballot papers are still counted manually.
