The Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, narrowly survived a no confidence vote – or motion of “non-cooperation” – this morning, as 25 of the 50 strong assembly voted for the Premier.
Of the 50 potential voters, 25 sided with Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, 22 voted against the PM, one minister abstained. Of the other two voters, one is out of the country at present, and one is banned from casting such a vote.
The vote of no confidence was called for by opposition who claimed the Prime Minister had breached the country’s constitution and suppressed several freedoms.
The motion, brought on 28 December 2010 by opposition to the PM, has therefore failed to pass.
In This Story: Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in Western Asia. As of 2016, Kuwait has a population of 4.5 million people: 1.3 million are Kuwaitis and 3.2 million are expatriates. Expatriates account for approximately 70% of the population.
Oil reserves were discovered in commercial quantities in 1938. Kuwait is a non-NATO ally of the United States. Kuwait is also a major ally of ASEAN, while maintaining a very strong relationship with China.
Kuwait is a constitutional sovereign state with a semi-democratic political system. Kuwait has a World Bank high-income economy backed by the world’s sixth largest oil reserves. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest valued currency in the world.
Voting is a method for a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, in order to make a collective decision or express an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holders of high office by voting. Residents of a place represented by an elected official are called “constituents”, and those constituents who cast a ballot for their chosen candidate are called “voters”. There are different systems for collecting votes, but while many of the systems used in decision-making can also be used as electoral systems, any which cater for proportional representation can only be used in elections.
In smaller organizations, voting can occur in different ways. Formally via ballot to elect others for example within a workplace, to elect members of political associations or to choose roles for others. Informally voting could occur as a spoken agreement or as a verbal gesture like a raised hand or electronically.
