Kuwait holds general elections Saturday. Candidates were holding final rallies on the eve of voting, making promises of political reform and warning voters against casting ballots based on tribal and family allegiances.
Some 250 candidates are running for 50 seats in the assembly after months of campaign. Kuwait excluded women and recently naturalized Kuwaitis from voting. That means only 15 per cent of the country's 850,000 citizens are eligible to vote.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Saturday expressed his hope for success to all those who are elected by the people of Kuwait to represent them under the dome of parliament, "regardless of different opinions and affiliations... as you are all for Kuwait in good times and in bad."
Speaking to the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai Al-Aam on Saturday, Sheikh Sabah also expressed his hope that the next parliament will practice its legislative role and direct its energy towards constructive service and development, in cooperation with the executive bodies.
"We are all in one boat, and are not two teams opposing each other," he said. In response to a question surrounding the various goals of the National Assembly, Sheikh Sabah said, "This is an issue to be decided by the Kuwaiti people, as they are the ones who will choose in freedom and use their conscience. All we can do is accept what the people of Kuwait accept, and this is one of the attributes of democracy that we have all agreed upon." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
