By Rania El Gamal and Eman Goma
KUWAIT (Reuters) - Women won four seats in Kuwait's parliament, a
first in the Gulf Arab state's history, but with many of the same
faces back, Saturday's election is unlikely to end a political
deadlock that has delayed economic reforms.
Sunni Islamists lost some ground while Shi'ites and liberals made
small gains, but analysts said the changes were not enough to end a
long-running standoff between parliament and government that has
pushed Kuwait from one crisis to the next.
"People voted for change because people are fed up with deadlocks.
It is time to focus on our priorities inside the parliament," Aseel
al-Awadhi, one of Kuwait's first women lawmakers told Reuters after
her win.
Kuwait's main index ended 0.38 percent higher, offering a lukewarm
reception to the changes.
"This is a historic election... but the so-called deadlock MPs are
also back and we hope they change course," said Ali al-Baghli, a
former oil minister.
Kuwait's ruler, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, called the election
after dissolving the assembly two months ago to end its standoff
with the cabinet, which includes ruling family members.
The move allowed the government and ruler to push ahead with a $5
billion (113, 942 pounds) economic stimulus package to soften the
effects of the global financial crisis, which had faced opposition
in parliament. The new assembly must now vote on the plan.
Some analysts say the appointment of a strong prime minister and
cabinet is key to resolving Kuwait's political crisis.
Kuwait has had five cabinets in the past three years, and the ruler
has reappointed his nephew, Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah, as
prime minister every time.
Successive cabinets have been bogged down by allegations of
corruption or misconduct from parliamentary deputies.
"We need to have a government that is able to lead and move forward
with reforms... I think there is a possibility that we will see a
similar crisis," said political analyst Shafiq Ghabra. "The
question is which way will the government move?"
WOMEN WIN SEATS
There are no political parties in Kuwait, the world's fourth
largest oil exporter, which means lawmakers can easily shift
alliances depending on the issue at stake, making it hard to
predict how the new assembly is likely to work with the
cabinet.
While parliament has tended to be dominated by tribesmen and
Islamists, liberals have often joined in opposition to major
economic projects and efforts to trim the welfare state.
Sunni Islamists won around 11 seats Saturday, down from some 21 in
the last assembly, Reuters calculated based on a list of names
published by state news agency KUNA.
Liberals won about eight seats, up from around seven. Lawmakers
from the Shi'ite Muslim community, about a third of the Kuwaiti
population, rose by four to nine. The rest went to tribesmen who
have long dominated the assembly.
Apart from al-Awadhi, Kuwait's first women lawmakers include
Massouma al-Mubarak, who became Kuwait's first female minister in
2005, the year women were first given the right to vote and run for
office. The others are U.S.-educated professors Salwa al-Jassar and
leading economist Rola Dashti.
Women won no seats in the 2006 and 2008 elections in the
conservative state where politics is still seen as a man's
game.
The Salafist Movement, a Sunni Islamist bloc, had urged voters to
boycott women candidates during the election campaign.
Although its political system resembles Western democracy more
closely than that of any other nation in the Gulf Arab region,
Kuwait has fallen behind neighbours like Dubai, which have grown
into commercial, financial and tourist centres.
(Writing by Lin Noueihed; editing by Richard Balmforth)