# 2020 Kuwaiti general election

General elections were held in Kuwait on 5 December 2020. Two-thirds of the incumbents lost their seats, including the 2016 parliament's sole woman MP Safa Al Hashem.

## Background

Registration of candidates contesting for the 50 seats of the National Assembly took place between 26 October and 4 November 2020. 102 schools were used for the 2020 National Assembly elections on December 5. Each school had a clinic set up to check on the health condition of all those entering.

## Electoral system

The 50 elected members of the National Assembly are elected from five 10-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote. Political parties are not officially licensed, therefore candidates run as individuals, although many political groups operate freely as de facto political parties. All Kuwaiti citizens (both male and female) above the age of 21 have the right to vote. Expatriate workers, who constituted 70% of the population, were not enfranchised.

## Results

Overall, opposition candidates won 24 seats, up from 16 in the previous parliament. The election was seen as a victory for the anti-government opposition bloc. Thirty of the elected candidates were under the age of 45; whilst there were 29 female candidates, none were elected, leaving the parliament without a female MP for the first time since the year 2012. There was a total of 567,694 registered voters, of which 394,131 cast a valid vote.
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Notes |
| First Constituency | Hassan Abdullah Johar | 5,849 | Elected |
| First Constituency | Yusuf Fahad Al-Ghurayyeb | 5,064 | Elected |
| First Constituency | Ahmad Khalifa Al-Shuhoomi | 4,129 | Elected |
| First Constituency | Hamad Ahmad Rouhuddine | 3,783 | Elected |
| First Constituency | Essa Ahmad Al-Kandari | 3,398 | Elected |
| First Constituency | Ali Abdulrasoul Al-Qattan | 3,320 | Elected |
| First Constituency | Adnan Abdulsamad Zahed | 3,052 | Elected |
| First Constituency | Abdullah Mohammad Al-Turaiji | 2,472 | Elected |
| First Constituency | Abdullah Jassem Al-Mudhaf | 3,437 | Elected |
| First Constituency | Osama Essa Al-Shaheen | 2,167 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim | 5,179 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Mohammad Barrak Al-Mutair | 3,456 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Khalil Ibrahim Al-Saleh | 3,117 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Hammad Mohammad Al-Matar | 2,903 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Salman Khaled Al-Azmi | 2,866 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Khaled Ayed Al-Enezi | 2,565 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Bader Nasser Al-Humaidi | 2,534 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Bader Hamed Al-Mulla | 2,483 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Hamad Saif Al-Harshani | 2,208 | Elected |
| Second Constituency | Ahmad Mohammad Al-Hamad | 2,195 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Abdulkareem Abdullah Al-Kandari | 5,585 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Osama Ahmad Al-Munawer | 3,858 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Muhannad Talal Al-Sayer | 3,565 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Hesham Abdulsamad Al-Saleh | 3,345 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Abdulaziz Tareq Al-Saqabi | 3,340 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Yusuf Saleh Al-Fadhalah | 2,992 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Mubarak Zaid Al-Mutairi | 2,982 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Saadoun Hammad Al-Otaibi | 2,979 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Fares Saad Al-Otaibi | 2,942 | Elected |
| Third Constituency | Muhalhal Khaled Al-Mudhaf | 2,904 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Shuaib Shabbab Al-Muwaizri | 6,200 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Fayez Ghannam Al-Mutairi | 5,774 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Musa'ad Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi | 5,750 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Mohammad Obaid Al-Rajhi | 5,198 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Saud Saad Al-Mutairi | 5,100 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Thamer Saad Al-Dhefeeri | 4,935 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Marzouq Khalifa Al-Khalifa | 4,760 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Farz Mohammad Al-Daihani | 4,701 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Saad Ali Al-Rashidi | 4,520 | Elected |
| Fourth Constituency | Mubarak Haif Al-Hajraf | 4,422 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Hamdan Salem Al-Azmi | 8,387 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Bader Zayed Al-Azmi | 8,371 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Mubarak Abdullah Al-Ajmi | 6,801 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Al-Saifi Mubarak Al-Ajmi | 6,294 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Khaled Mohammad Al-Otaibi | 5,387 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Humoud Mebrek Al-Azmi | 5,347 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Saleh Theyab Al-Mutairi | 5,113 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Nasser Saad Al-Doseri | 4,750 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Mohammad Hadi Al-Huweila | 4,720 | Elected |
| Fifth Constituency | Ahmad Abdullah Al-Azmi | 4,651 | Elected |
| Source: KUNA (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) ||||

## Aftermath

Following the elections, a new Speaker of the National Assembly was elected on 15 December. Incumbent Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim was re-elected with 33 votes, defeating Bader Nasser Al-Humaidi, who received 28. Four members did not vote.
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Marzouq Al-Ghanim | Independent | 33 | 54.10 |
| | Bader Al Humaidi | Independent | 28 | 45.90 |
| Total | Total | Total | 61 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 61 | 95.31 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 3 | 4.69 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 64 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 65 | 98.46 |
Parliament unanimously approved a motion of noncooperation, meaning the cabinet must be replaced.