Kuwaiti Women Join the Voting After a Long Battle for Suffrage
"Kuwaiti women joined men at the polls on Thursday for the first time in Kuwait's history, electing a new 50-member Parliament in a landmark vote.
More than 340,000 Kuwaitis, including about 195,000 women, were eligible to vote for 253 candidates, including 28 women. Early returns on Friday morning suggested that none of the women had garnered enough votes to win a seat.
Women's votes were highly sought after by candidates after a long fight for suffrage was won last year. Analysts said their votes could have tremendous influence over issues like corruption, economic development and women's rights.
Polling places at schools in Kuwait's 25 election districts opened Thursday morning to a constant stream of voters. Kuwaiti television reported high turnout, exceeding 78 percent in some places.
Candidates and campaigners, ready with radios and leaflets, were on hand for last-minute attempts to sway voters, with many paying especially close attention to the women.
''I feel like I am a full citizen today,'' said Maha Barjes, a member of Kuwait's Human Rights Society and longtime women's rights campaigner. ''The results of this election will be very different. Even the men now acknowledge that.''
Despite the excitement, allegations of vote buying continued.
''Things are bad,'' said Anwar al-Rsheed, the director of the voting transparency committee of Kuwait's Civil Alliance for Reform and Transparency. ''Candidates are buying votes as we speak.'' Mr. Rsheed said he had evidence of at least 10 instances of payments having been made for votes.
Kuwait gave women the right to vote and run for office in 2005, in an amendment to the election law believed to have been pushed through by the current emir, Sheik Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, when he was prime minister.
Parliament voted to removed the word men from an article of the law that applied to voting. The measure was fiercely resisted by conservatives and Islamists, who were especially opposed to women running for office.
Unlike most Arab countries, Kuwait has a Parliament that holds significant sway over the country's policies and has a considerable degree of independence. Increasingly dominated by Islamists and conservatives, it has managed to hold up legislation and stymie efforts to increase the royal family's powers.
The elections on Thursday were originally scheduled for next year, but in a surprise move last month, Sheik Sabah, who became emir early this year, dissolved Parliament and called for early elections after a heated battle over a proposed redistricting law paralyzed the government.
That added to the challenge many prospective women faced as candidates, giving them only one month to campaign and begin building a base.
As a result, many analysts and women's rights advocates doubted that they would win many seats. Women were widely expected to vote for known male candidates, opinion polls suggested, as fierce competition in more urban districts in Kuwait City left many women's campaigns at a disadvantage.
''The competition is very strong,'' Ms. Barjes said. ''There are a few of the women candidates who were strong, but this is democracy -- you can't force anyone to vote a certain way.''"