Manama: Kuwait’s legislative elections on December 1 could usher in a parliament that makes a 90 per cent departure from the outgoing House in terms of its composition

The overwhelming change would be linked to a high participation of young people and to the boycott announced by veteran lawmakers, sources told local Arabic daily Al Anba.

“A high number of young figures have expressed their intention to run in the election amid predictions that their chances would be boosted by the absence of competition from heavyweight candidates,” said the sources whose identity the newspaper did not divulge. “The changes would be massive, up to eight seats, in four of the five constituencies. Only Constituency One would not have such a drastic change,” the sources said.

Each parliamentary constituency in Kuwait sends 10 representatives to the parliament.

Several outgoing lawmakers said that they would boycott the parliamentary elections to protest against the amendment of the 2006 electoral law that reduces the number of candidates a voter can elect from four to one.

The government said that the amendment by the Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah aimed to ensure a fairer representation of the people in parliament and that the ‘one voter, one vote’ practice was the international standard.

However, the opposition charged that the government sought to weaken it and that the amendment to the electoral law was its way of ensuring that parliament would be compliant with its orientations. Several former lawmakers announced that they would boycott the elections and launched campaigns calling for a general boycott.

Reports that the opposition would call for a ‘one voter, two votes’ slogan as a compromise with the government to overcome the crisis have been denied as “baseless.”

However, according to Al Anba, several young Kuwaitis have said that they don’t relate to the boycott call and that they are ready to contest the elections and help create a new-look parliament.

“We will have a different parliament both in its composition and in the issues to be discussed and the laws to be enacted,” the sources said.

The cabinet is expected to announce on Wednesday the decree calling for the elections, paving the way for the registration process.