Sunni Islamists made a strong showing in Kuwait's legislative election and minority Shiites gained one more seat, but women failed again to enter parliament, according to results released on Sunday.
According to AFP, official results from four districts and unofficial returns from the fifth indicated that the Islamic Salafi Alliance and its allies won at least 10 seats in Saturday's vote, almost twice their strength in the previous house. In all, Sunni Islamists won 21 seats, four more than their number in the previous chamber which was dissolved by the Kuwaiti ruler in March after a standoff between the government and MPs.
The Islamic Constitutional Movement, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, however saw its power cut by half to three MPs in the 50-member parliament. The number of lawmakers from the Shiite Muslim minority rose by one to five.
Liberals and their allies won seven seats, one less than in the previous house, while the nationalist Popular Action Bloc led by veteran opposition figure Ahmad al-Saadun took four seats, down one. Women, who were contesting the election for only the second time, failed to win any seats. Twenty-seven women were in the running.
There are 22 new faces in the parliament, mostly from tribal areas.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
