Manama: As the date of Kuwait’s elections is approaching and as the official registration of candidates for the parliament seats was opened on Wednesday, the opposition looked sharply divided and has yet to agree on whether to continue the boycott it decided in the last elections or to reverse its decision and take part.
Some figures have said they would not run or vote in the poll arguing that they opposed the one-vote policy adopted by the state since the last elections, while others called for participating “in order to be able to express their views more decisively”.
Parliament hopefuls have until October 28 to present their candidacies.
Next month’s parliamentary elections will be the first to be held in the month of November.
A study by Kuwaiti daily Al Qabas showed that January leads with four parliaments elected (1963, 1967, 1971 and 1975), followed by February (1981, 1985 and 2012) and July (1999, 2003 and 2013) with three each.
Two elections were held in May (2008 and 2009) and October (1992 and 1996) and one in June (2006) and December (2012).
None of the 16 elections in the country’s history was ever held in March, April, August, September or November.
The 2013 elections were the only ones to be held in Ramadan, the ninth month on the Islamic calendar during which adult Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise until sunset.
According to the study, six parliaments were elected on a Saturday, four on a Monday, three on a Wednesday and two on a Thursday.
The November 2016 elections will be held on a Saturday, the second day of the Kuwaiti weekend.
