Politics of Kuwait

Kuwait is a constitutional emirate with a semi-democratic political system. The hybrid political system is divided between an elected parliament and appointed government.

The Constitution of Kuwait was promulgated in 1962. Kuwait is among the Middle East's freest countries in civil liberties and political rights.Freedom House rates the country as "Partly Free" in the Freedom in the World survey. Kuwait is the only Gulf state that is ranked "partly free".

The Constitution of Kuwait was ratified in 1962 and has elements of a presidential and parliamentary system of government. The constitution stipulates that Kuwait must have an elected legislature (the National Assembly parliament). The Emir is the head of state, whose powers are defined in the constitution.

Citizens who have reached the age of 21 years can vote. Parliamentary candidates must be eligible to vote and at least 30 years old. The Constitution expressly supports political parties, but they remain illegal as no law has arisen to define and regulate them. MPs tend to serve as independents or as members of de facto political parties and factions based on ideology, sect, social class or clan.

The National Assembly is the legislature in Kuwait. The National Assembly has the power to remove government ministers from their post. MPs frequently exercise their constitutional right to interpellate government members. The National Assembly's interpellation sessions of ministers are aired on Kuwaiti TV. MPs also have the right to interpellate the prime minister, and then table a motion of non-cooperation with the government, in which case the cabinet must get replaced.

The National Assembly can have up to 50 MPs. Fifty deputies are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Members of the cabinet also sit in the parliament as deputies. The constitution limits the size of the cabinet to 16, and at least one member of the cabinet must be an elected MP. The cabinet ministers have the same rights as the elected MPs, with the following two exceptions: they do not participate in the work of committees, and they cannot vote when an interpolation leads to a no-confidence vote against one of the cabinet members.

...
Wikipedia