Few changes after Kuwait holds first parliamentary election under new emir | Politics News [Video]

Opposition politicians maintained a majority in Kuwait’s parliament, results have shown after the country’s third parliamentary vote in as many years.

The polls on Thursday were the first to be held under new Emir Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Sabah who came to power late last year after the death of his half-brother and predecessor, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah.

The official KUNA news agency said on Friday that opposition candidates had won 29 seats in the 50-member assembly, matching the outcome of last year’s election.

Results also showed a single female candidate was elected, the same as in the previous parliament, while Shia Muslim legislators secured eight seats in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country, one more than last year. Seats for the Islamic Constitutional Movement, which represents the Kuwaiti branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, fell to one from the previous three.

Overall, the makeup of the new parliament is very similar to the outgoing one, with all but 11 politicians retaining …