KUWAIT CITY, 4 June 2003 — One hundred and thirty seven Kuwaiti men have registered so far to compete in upcoming parliamentary elections, the head of the state’s election office said yesterday. Registration opened on Monday for those seeking to run in the July 5 polls for the 50 seats in the National Assembly. “We had 83 people register on Monday, and 55 today, but one dropped out, so today’s total is 137,” said Ali Murad, manager of the state’s election office.
Hundreds of Kuwaiti men are expected to register by June 11, the end of the registration period, to compete in the polls that are held every four years. Kuwait has 25 electoral districts and two representatives are chosen from each district.
A statement issued earlier by the Interior Ministry, which oversees the electoral process, specified that those eligible to compete must be Kuwaiti male citizens over the age of 30 who are fluent in Arabic and have no criminal record.
Kuwaiti women do not hold the right to vote or run for election which is one reason why only 15.4 percent of the nation’s estimated 820,000 citizens are eligible to choose parliamentary representatives.
