Kuwaitis vote in council election

Thousands of Kuwaiti men flocked to polling stations yesterday to elect 10 representatives for the Municipal Council.

Voting started at 8am and was to continue until 8pm, while the results were expected to be declared around midnight.

A total of 54 candidates are contesting the elections being held without the participation of women despite them winning the right to vote and run in elections on May 16.

This happened because when the Parliament took the decision to grant Kuwaiti women political rights, the date for these municipal elections had already been announced.

Women will, however, vote and run in the 2007 parliamentary elections and the 2009 municipal polls.

"This is an historic day. It is the last time that only half the society will make decisions for the country," Rula Dashti, chairwoman of Kuwait Economic Society, said.

"We are looking forward to see women appointed in the municipal council and as ministers," she said.

Interior ministry made special arrangements to keep the elections orderly and peaceful. The polling stations, largely set up at the schools, were manned by extra security personnel.

The Council comprises 16 members, 10 of them are elected directly by voters while the remaining six members are appointed by the Emir His Highness Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

After enfranchising women, he can appoint females as members in the council.

"Although I oppose women participation in the election, I believe that the equation will dramatically change in the next polls when women take part," Mansour Ahmad, 50, said after casting his vote in a tribal area.

There are 131,000 eligible voters in Kuwait and the turnout, which was slow early in the day, is not expected to exceed 60 per cent, like previous municipality elections.

Municipal Council election presents yet another addition to Kuwait's democratic process, which started as early as in 1962 following the country's independence from British mandate.

"I believe this council has an important role to play in light of the fact that Kuwait is forging ahead with economic reforms. The council must speed up decision-making in providing land for projects and improve city planning," Dashti said.

The establishment of the first Municipal Council came after the municipal law was issued in 1930 and the first elections were held in 1932 with the participation of a limited number of prominent figures with the aim of working out development plans for the country.

During their short campaigns, candidates discussed a host of issues including corruption, housing problem, family ties, traffic congestion, lack of recreational facilities and relocation of the service stations from the city centre to the outside of the city areas.

The writer is a journalist based in Kuwait City