Kuwait Election May Deepen Deadlock, Bolster Opposition
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Kuwait’s opposition, buoyed by a wave of street protests in the oil-rich monarchy, will seek to gain control of parliament in elections tomorrow and step up pressure for a handover of powers to elected officials.
The ballot follows months of unprecedented anti-government demonstrations sparked by corruption allegations against Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, who quit as prime minister of the Persian Gulf state in November. That prompted Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, his uncle, to dissolve parliament and call elections. The opposition has vowed to use its strength in the assembly to press for measures that would legalize political parties and let the elected assembly choose a government.