Suffrage
Kuwait has universal adult suffrage for Kuwaiti citizens who are 21 or older, with the exception of
( 1 ) those who currently serve in the armed forces and, ( 2 ) citizens who have been naturalized for fewer than 30 years.
The Explanatory Memorandum of the Constitution bars members of the ruling family of the Mubarak branch (the branch from which the Emir must descend) from running for election to the National Assembly, though the Memorandum does not explicitly prohibit these members of the ruling family from casting votes. It is not clear if the prohibition on candidacies would be enforced. Some members of the ruling family are found on the voter rolls, though prominent members of the family do not vote.
In 1996 naturalized citizens were given the right to vote, but only after they had been naturalized for at least 30 years.
The franchise was expanded to include women on May 16, 2005, in a 35–23 vote with one abstention. Under pressure from Islamists, the right of women to run as candidates and to vote was made subject to Islamic Law: for example, men and women will vote in separate polling places.
Most residents of Kuwait are not citizens and consequently do not have the right to vote. Kuwait's citizenship law, in theory, gives citizenship to those who descend, in the male line, from residents of Kuwait in 1920.
Read more about this topic: Elections In Kuwait
Famous quotes containing the word suffrage:
“Gentlemen, those confederate flags and our national standard are what has made this union great. In what other country could a man who fought against you be permitted to serve as judge over you, be permitted to run for reelection and bespeak your suffrage on Tuesday next at the poles.”
—Laurence Stallings (1894–1968)
“... the most important effect of the suffrage is psychological. The permanent consciousness of power for effective action, the knowledge that their own thoughts have an equal chance with those of any other person ... this is what has always rendered the men of a free state so energetic, so acutely intelligent, so powerful.”
—Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842–1906)
“When will the men do something besides extend congratulations? I would rather have President Roosevelt say one word to Congress in favor of amending the Constitution to give women the suffrage than to praise me endlessly!”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)