* Election is the fifth since mid-2006
* Opposition MPs refusing to stand
* Protesters held huge boycott rally on eve of vote
By Sylvia Westall
KUWAIT, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Kuwait holds a parliamentary
election on Saturday overshadowed by an opposition boycott,
protests over a change to the voting rules and a festering
political crisis in the U.S.-allied oil producer.
The election will be the second this year in the Gulf Arab
state, where a series of assemblies have collapsed under the
weight of a power struggle between elected MPs and the cabinet,
appointed by the prime minister who is chosen by the emir.
Tens of thousands of Kuwaiti activists marched on Friday,
urging people not to vote in protest against the change to
electoral rules which they say will skew the outcome in favour
of pro-government candidates.
Opposition figures have already said they will not stand
because of the change, ordered in October by the emir, Sheikh
Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, whose family has ruled for 250 years
and dominates the cabinet.
Past turnouts have been around 60-80 percent, but analysts
said the numbers could be low this time, given the boycott and
widespread exhaustion after the country’s long string of
elections.
“Voter apathy is to be expected, after all this is not only
the second parliamentary election of 2012, but elections were
also held in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2008, and 2009.
Election fatigue is understandable,” IHS Global Insight analyst
Jamie Ingram wrote in a note.
Organisers of Friday’s march said it was the largest in
Kuwait’s history and a sign of deep public discontent with
changes to the voting system.
“The (opposition) movement in Kuwait is not like the Arab
Spring movement. It is not against the ruler,” former MP Mubarak
al-Walaan said after the march. “It is about keeping to the
constitution and the constitutional rules. The authorities must
protect the constitution.”
EMERGENCY POWERS
The emir used emergency powers to cut the number of votes
per citizen to one from four, saying the change would fix a
flawed system and maintain security and stability. He said his
decree was constitutional.
The opposition, a disparate collection of Islamists,
liberals and populist politicians, argue the change hit their
ability to form alliances.
In the past, candidates have called on their supporters to
cast their additional ballots for allies. They say such informal
affiliations are crucial in a country where political parties
are banned.
The opposition won around two-thirds of the 50-seat National
Assembly in February and formed a bloc that put pressure on the
government, forcing two ministers from office.
That parliament was dissolved after a June court ruling, in
the latest stage in a political standoff which has stalled
investment programmes and frozen reforms in the country.
The government says opposition lawmakers used parliament to
settle scores rather than helping pass laws needed for economic
development. Opposition politicians accuse the government of
mismanagement and have called for an elected cabinet.
Kuwait’s parliament has legislative powers and the ability
to question ministers. But the emir’s Al-Sabah family holds
important levers of power.
Voting takes place between 8am-8pm local time (0500-1700
GMT).
(Editing by Andrew Heavens)
