Women return to Assembly as Kuwaitis vote for change

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti voters, vying for political stability after years of crises, voted on Thursday for massive change, according to early election results. At least two women candidates - Alia Al-Khaled in the second constituency and Jenan Bushehri in the third constituency - were almost certain of winning seats. The previous National Assembly had no female members. Among the main winners were prominent opposition leader and former three time speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun, 87, who is tipped to become the next Assembly speaker.

At the time of going to press, at least 14 new faces were in strong position to win seats in the 50-seat National Assembly and as many as 26 members of the dissolved Assembly were likely to be changed, according to the results. The previous Assembly was dissolved by HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in August over non-stop political disputes between the former government and opposition MPs.