The House of the Nation of Kuwait

The House of the
Nation of Kuwait

History and Structure

Democracy in Kuwait

The House of the Nation, otherwise known as the National Assembly, is the
democratic representation of the Kuwaiti People. Since the establishment of the
Kuwaiti state, the people of Kuwait have always sought free and Fair democratic
representation. This was seen with the Sabah’s

election based on an agreement by the
people, and the rejection of Iraqi rule, instead
fighting to govern themselves.

The Situation in Early Kuwait.

The National Assembly was established twice before its
current version; in 1932 and in 1938. The first assembly
was quickly dissolved due to internal strife, and due to
WWII, which greatly influenced Kuwait (even if no fighting
occurred in its borders). Following this, and the boom in
population, the Kuwaiti people wished to have
representatives, as it was no longer realistic for each
Kuwaiti citizen to meet the Amir. When Sheikh Abdullah's
reign began, he started a long process of reform in both
the Sabah Family and State of Kuwait, which would
enable the establishment of the House of the Nation.

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Sabah III

The establishment of the House of the Nation.

After his reforms were successful, Sheikh Abdullah would seek independence for
Kuwait from Britain. As part of this agreement, the House of the Nation would be
revived.

Sheikh Abdullah cared deeply for democracy in Kuwait, making it part of the
nations resolution, and establishing the first session in 1963. He would pass
away, one month after suffering a heart attack in the opening session of the
House.

How National Assembly Voting Works.

The members of the National Assembly are
elected by a single vote system, where the 10
candidates with the most votes in each electoral
district are given seats in the National
Assembly, resulting in a total of 50 seats. The
constitution requires minister seats to not
account for more than ⅓ of elected seats, so
only up to 16 can become part of the executive
branch, with at least 1 needing to be from the
elected list. The current system has 5 districts,
with 1 vote each, however it has varied greatly.

The Five Constituencies in the Election

Successes of The National Assembly

-The Demarcation of the Kuwait-Iraq Maritime Border

-The granting of Women's suffrage in 2005

-The quick recovery from the Iraqi invasion thanks to
legislation put in place to rebuild destroyed
buildings

-Over 20 million KWD pledged to Turkish Earthquake
relief

-More than 2 billion KWD in grants sent to
impoverished nations by the Kuwait Fund.

Thank you!

Feel free to ask any questions.