Kuwaitis elect new parliament

KUWAIT CITY

Kuwaiti voters went to polling stations Saturday to elect a new parliament.

Polls opened at 8:00 am local time (5:00 GMT) and are expected to close at 8:00 pm.

There are 483,186 eligible voters in the Gulf country, who will choose from among 293 candidates including 14 women who are vying for a seat in the 50-member chamber.

The parliamentary election was originally scheduled for June 2017, but the polls were advanced after the country’s emir dissolved parliament in October, citing “regional developments” and “security challenges”.

The polls are expected to see a high turnout after the opposition ended their boycott of the election.

The opposition had boycotted the polls in 2012 and 2013 in protest at the government move to amend the electoral system.

The last parliamentary election was held in Kuwait in 2013.

Reporting by Ahmed al-Masri; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat;