Kuwait opposition in strong election showing

Kuwait City - Safaa al-Hashem was the only woman to win one of the 50 seats up for grabs in Saturday's election.

Opposition groups and their allies secured nearly half of the Kuwaiti parliament's seats, official election results showed on Sunday, raising fears of fresh political wrangling in the state.
The opposition and its allies won 24 of the assembly's 50 seats, the electoral authority announced following Saturday's snap election called after a dispute over the hiking of petrol prices.
The opposition contested the election after a four-year boycott in protest over the government's amendment of the key voting system.
Voters dealt a heavy blow to candidates from the outgoing parliament, with more than half of them failing to make it into the new assembly.
Two of three cabinet ministers also failed in their bid for re-election.
"Surprise," read the main headline on the website of Al-Qabas newspaper, adding that the election had resulted in a "62 per cent change" in the parliament.
One third of the members of the new parliament are relatively young and fresh on the political scene.
But despite the outcome, Amir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is set to ask the incumbent prime minister or another leading figure from the ruling family to form a new cabinet.
"I think this composition will lead to confrontations between opposition MPs and the next government," political analyst Mohammad al Ajmi told AFP.
"There are many issues that could spark disputes: economic measures, revoking of citizenships and others," said Ajmi.
In the past two years, the government revoked the citizenship of several leading opposition figures and their family members, citing various motives.
The Amir called the election after dissolving the previous parliament.
Hours after the results were issued, he congratulated the winners for the "trust" given to them by voters, wishing them success in "serving the homeland".
Saturday's election saw a turnout of about 70 percent amid divisions over cuts in subsidies due to falling oil revenues.
Analyst Dahem al-Qahtani said the opposition had made an "impressive showing".
"Kuwaiti voters have punished those who let them down... and rejected the austerity measures," he told AFP.

• Kuwait