Smooth start for elections in Kuwait

Turnout for the parliamentary elections in Kuwait was around 9.3 per cent two hours and a half after the polling stations opened, a survey indicates. According to the survey by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna), 37,250 people cast their ballots in the five constituencies. Elections officials said that 400,296 are registered to vote. Witnesses said that mainly old people braved the cold weather and winds to cast their ballots at stations where the police and medical teams were clearly visible since early morning. Relatives and friends of candidates moved in the vicinity of the stations in a last bid to encourage voters to support them. Young people in a spreading sense of pride and pronounced enthusiasm offered brochures and pictures of the candidates, the witnesses said. The cordial atmosphere sharply contrasted with the violence and incidents that marred the end of the campaigns. No clear winner has emerged before the elections as issues varied between pledges to fight corruption and promises for a more stable life. However, tribes remain a robust factor in the elections. Analysts say that the chances of Islamist candidates looked better than they did in the last elections in 2009, but the predictions are based mainly on the trend that had dominated outcomes in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt, the three Arab countries where people cast ballots in the last four months. Manama - Gulf news