Kuwait Begins Voting to Elect New Parl't

On Saturday, polling stations in Kuwait opened their doors to voters to cast their ballots in the parliamentary elections.

The voting is the first to get organized in the Gulf state since the new Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah took office on September 29th.

The voting process started from 8:00 a.m. local time(0500 GMT) and will proceed until 8:00 p.m. (1700 GMT).

According to Kuwaiti News Agency "KUNA", voters will cast their votes in 5 electoral districts, amid strict precautionary measures amid Coronavirus fears.

326 candidates, including 29 women, are running for the 50-member Parliament.

Coronavirus precautionary measures

The Kuwaiti government has taken tightened precautionary measures during the voting process, including panning group gatherings near the polling stations, asking people to wear facemasks and gloves, as well as wearing gloves, according to Xinhua.

In addition, the polling stations are equipped with medical clinics to guarantee the health and safety of voters.

According to the Kuwaiti Health Ministry's spokesperson Abdullah Al-Sanad, voters who are infected or those who are quarantined need to get a permit through an app before going to polling stations.