Previous Issues
Volume :33 Issue : 1 2005
Add To Cart
Download
The Redistribution of the Electoral Constituencies
Auther : Jasem Karam -Jasem AL-Al
This study aims to analyze the impact of the redistribution of the electoral constituencies on voting behaviour in Kuwait. The constituencies in Kuwait have been changed five times since 1961. The amendment of 1980, which changed the constituencies from 10 to 25, has had a great impact on the outcomes of elections. That amendment had resulted in tribal and sectarian voting patterns, and bribery became widely practiced ever since. This voting behaviour is due to the small size of the constituency which makes a candidate need a small number of votes to win the elections. As a result of these negative voting patterns, members of the Parliament submitted several suggestions calling for a re-distribution of the constituencies to one, five, or ten. The study examined all of the submitted suggestions and highlighted their positive and negative aspects. The researchers, then, proposed a new map that would divide Kuwait into five constituencies, based on geographical bases, avoiding any gerrymandering or mallaportionment (?). Moreover, the new map guaranteed the full representation of all political groups. The study concluded with the assumption that the reduction of the constituencies will result in the decline of the tribal and sectarian voting pattern and puts an end to bribery. The authors realize, however, that the redistribution of the constituencies alone can not correct all electoral anomalies.