Early general elections were held in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

on 17 May 2008 after the Emir

Sabah Al-Sabah Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (; 16 June 1929 – 29 September 2020) was the Emir of Kuwait from 24 January 2006 until his death in 2020. He was the fourth son of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Early life and early career Al-Sabah was b ...

dissolved the

National Assembly of Kuwait The National Assembly (, ''Majlis al-ʾUmma'') is the unicameral legislature of Kuwait. The National Assembly met in Kuwait City. The National Assembly is made up of 50 elected members and 16 directly appointed government ministers (ex officio me ...

on 19 March 2008 over constant clashes between the government and the elected MPs. The last elections were held less than two years previously and saw a loose alliance of reformists and Islamists gain almost two thirds of the seats. Nearly 362,000 Kuwaitis were eligible to vote, more than half of them women, and 27 of the 275 candidates were women; none of the female candidates won. New rules introduced for this election have changed the 25 constituencies electing two to five electing 10. This was a demand of the reformist Kuwaiti Orange Movement, which led mass demonstrations in 2006, who believed the change would impede

vote buying Vote buying (also referred to as electoral clientelism and patronage politics) occurs when a political party or candidate distributes money or resources to a voter in an upcoming election with the expectation that the voter votes for the actor h ...

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

s. A leading theme in the election was

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

, which hit a record high 9.5% four months before the election. Many candidates in the election proposed increased governmental

subsidies A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acce ...

to be funded by oil profits.

Results

Aftermath

Following the election,

Jassem Al-Kharafi Jassem Al-Kharafi, (; 1940 – May 21, 2015) was a Kuwaiti oligarch who was the speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly from 1999 to 2011.Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Elections in Kuwait

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

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