At stake in this election:

• 50 seats in the National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah
• Head of Government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince Sheikh SAAD al-Abdallah al-Salim al-Sabah
• Assembly: Kuwait has a unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma) with 50 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The Amir is the hereditary head of state.
• The Prime Minister and Crown Prince is appointed by the monarch.
• In the National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma) 50 members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms.***

*** Members of the National Assembly are directly elected from twenty-five two-member constituencies. In each district, the two highest vote recipients are awarded the seats, even if they receive less than a majority of the votes.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Independent(s): Independents

Last Parliamentary election:

• Parliamentary elections were last held on October 7, 1996.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 1,853,152 (1999)
• Registered Voters: 112,882 (July 1999 Kuwaiti women are not permitted to vote in the 1999 election. 57% of Kuwait's citizens are under the voting age of 21. Police and military personnel are not permitted to vote.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 763,272 (1999)

·         Is Kuwait a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Kuwait ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (2 September 1994) 

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 0

·         Human Development Index Position: 48 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Kuwait a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Kuwait ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (22 August 2013)

·         Population with a disability: 277,972 (est.)