KUWAIT CITY, June 29: Polling stations closed on Thursday in historic Kuwaiti elections in which women took part for the first time in large numbers, with initial reports indicating a high turnout.

The stations closed 12 hours after voting began and counting of votes, which is manual, was expected to start soon.

There was no immediate official figures on the turnout but state-run Kuwait TV reported that it was more than 80 per cent in many of the 25 constituencies as voters braced searing temperature that was close to 50 degrees Celsius.

Kuwaiti women turned out in force to vote for the first time in parliamentary elections in the oil-rich Gulf state after a heated campaign focused on electoral reform and corruption.

Women voters, who represent 57 percent of the eligible electorate, rushed to start queuing in front of polling stations from early in the morning.

Outside Nafissa bint al-Hassan school, in Sabah al-Salem tribal district — dubbed the “mother of all districts” because of its size, women clad in black abaya robes were lined up under a blazing sun.

“I insisted on being the first to vote. I am so happy that I could not sleep last night,” said Zahra Ramadan Benbehani, 54, who arrived in a wheelchair pushed by her daughter.

Twenty-eight women are among 249 candidates running for a four-year term in the 50-seat legislative body.

Female candidate Fatima al-Mutairi arrived in the polling station wrapped with a Kuwaiti flag-coloured scarf over her black abaya.

“Even if I get only one vote, it will still be a testimony to tell the men and women of my country that I took on the challenge and that I have entered history,” she said.—AFP