The Parliament of Kuwait is unicameral. Voting is not compulsory.
Candidates usually run as independents.
It is the 9 th parliament since the independence of Kuwait in 1961. The Parliament was suspended by the Amir from 1976 to 1981 and from 1986 to 1991. The pre-election period of the 1996 legislative elections was marked by gatherings of women demanding political rights, including the suffrage. Liberal, pro-governmental and Shia islamists parliamentarians were in favour of the decree while Sunni islamists and tribal MP's opposed it. The rejection seems motivated mostly by a refusal to confirm a decree of the Amir and a new proposal, written by a committee of the Assembly, could be considered in the near future.