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Kuwait: Kuwaitis are waiting for results of Saturday's parliamentary election they hoped would bring in fresh faces able to bury political feuds and push through economic reforms.
Some 275 candidates are running for the 50-seat National Assembly, among them 27 women hoping for their first success after failing to win a single seat in 2006.
Results are not due until Sunday.
More than 75 per cent of men voters and more than 50 per cent women voters participated, according to media reports.
Women won the right to vote and stand for office in 2005 but face an uphill struggle attracting voters in a Gulf Arab country where many still believe a woman's place is in the home.
"I'm against women in parliament. I think everybody should stay in his place," said Samira Al Azm, a voter in her fifties.
Kuwait's ruler, Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, dissolved parliament in March to end a standoff with the cabinet that had delayed economic reforms aimed at preparing Kuwait for the era when its vast oil reserves run out.
Kuwait, which sits on 10 percent of the world's oil, wants to wean its economy off energy exports and emulate the success of neighbours like Dubai and Bahrain which have transformed themselves into financial centres and tourist destinations.
Oil makes up over 90 percent of Kuwaiti government revenues and 55 percent of the gross domestic product in 2006, according to official data. That compares to 3 percent of GDP in Dubai.
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