Manama: None of the four women candidates running in Kuwait’s Municipal Council elections was able to win a seat.
The results announced by the local authorities late on Saturday showed that 10 men carried their constituencies amid a rather low turnout attributed to “little interest in the municipal polls and to the high frequency of elections in the country”.
Women fared poorly even though 205,342 were registered to cast their ballots in the elections, compared with 178,887 male voters, confirming the belief in Kuwait that women candidates needed to secure the support of female voters in order to win seats in national elections. The women in the municipal elections had to face 57 male candidates.
Six of the winners are new faces while the other four are former council members who were re-elected.
According to Kuwait News Agency (Kuna), Hassan Ali Khazaal won in the First Constituency with 1,999 votes, Muhalhal Al Khalid won in the Second Constituency with 1,234 votes, and Fahd Al Sane in the Third Constituency with 1,226 votes.
In the Fourth Constituency, Abdullah Al Kandari was re-elected with 3,264 votes, while Fahd Al Ghurayyib will represent the Fifth Constituency after winning 3,510 votes.
In the Sixth Constituency, Ahmad Al Rashidi won with 3,200 votes, while Nayef Al Mutairi won in the Seventh Constituency with 4,205 votes, and Mishari Al Mutatah took the top spot in the Eighth Constituency with 6,431 votes.
The Ninth Constituency winner was Mane Al Ajmi with 4,294 votes and the Tenth Constituency winner was Adel Al Mai with 4,198 votes.
Prior to the announcement of the results, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Shaikh Mohammad Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah said that municipal elections were “fine and smooth”.
Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Shareeda Al Muosherji said, after meeting judiciary authorities, that all parties cooperated to organise and supervise the elections, Kuna reported.
Voters were able to cast their ballots between 8am and 8pm.
