Parliament failed on Monday to pass a bill to let Kuwait's disenfranchised women vote in local elections because many conservative MPs abstained in what some lawmakers said was a delaying tactic. Deputy Speaker Mishari al-Anjari said there would have to be another vote, which might take place in parliament on Tuesday. Among the 60 deputies and government ministers present, 29 voted in support, two against and 29 abstained from the vote on the bill to allow women to vote or run for the first time in local municipal elections in the Gulf Arab state.
The abstentions mean the required quorum of 33 MPs was not achieved because an abstaining MP is counted as absent.
MP Ahmad al-Mulaifi also expected a vote on Tuesday. "The legislation did not get a majority (to pass) but it also was not defeated because of the abstentions," Mulaifi told Reuters. "So now, according to custom it is suspended ... until tomorrow."
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