Kuwaitis go to polls in assembly election

KUWAIT, Kuwait, May 17 (UPI) -- Elections for Kuwait's National Assembly were under way Saturday, the first election under a new system reducing its political districts from 25 to five.

Reformers hope having fewer districts will make it harder for candidates to buy votes and for certain tribes or sects to dominate a small turnout, the BBC reported.

KUNA, the state-run Kuwaiti news agency, said a total of 361,684 eligible voters will elect 50 out of the 275 candidates running in the elections, with a total of 413 electoral committees having been set up in 97 schools across the country.

The National Assembly elections are the second in two years. The country's entire Cabinet resigned in March, complaining about interference from members of Parliament.

Women are hoping one of the 27 female candidates on the ballot will become Kuwait's first woman in the National Assembly, the BBC reported.