AP

KUWAIT CITY KUWAIT is heading into elections in much the same combative style that gripped the last parliament: Opposition groups pressing for even a bigger voice against the nation’s Western-allied rulers and domestic tensions running so high that one group torched the campaign tent of a rival.

Thursday’s voting for the 50-seat assembly — one of the most outspoken elected bodies in the Gulf — will test how much Kuwait’s ruling family and its backers can hold back a growing array of challengers, including hard-line Islamists and young liberals inspired by the Arab Spring.

An expected strong showing by opposition groups also could bring major distractions for Kuwait’s leadership as the nation regains its role as the main base for American ground troops in the Gulf following the US withdrawal from Iraq last year.

Although Kuwait’s key government posts are firmly in the hands of the ruling Al Sabah family, the country’s parliament stands out in the Gulf as one of the few elected groups that openly confront the leadership over issues such as cronyism, free expression and alleged corruption.

Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Sabah, dissolved parliament and called elections in December after months of political showdowns that included opposition lawmakers demanding to question the prime minister over an alleged payoff scandal and protests that culminated in anti-government mobs storming parliament.

About 400,000 Kuwaitis are registered to vote in what will be the first parliamentary election since May 2009. The more than 280 candidates include 23 women, including re-election bids by four lawmakers who were the first women in the assembly. Pro-government lawmakers had a slight edge in the last parliament.

Opposition groups have gained strength in recent years over claims that Kuwait’s rulers have tried to muzzle dissident voices, and complaints that the country has failed to keep pace with the Gulf powerhouses Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the past decade.

Kuwait’s tensions have roots years before the Arab Spring protests, but factions such as Kuwait’s Fifth Fence movement have drawn encouragement from the push for reforms and more accountability from officials around the region.

In late November, the emir selected Defence Minister Sheik Jaber al Hamad al Sabah as the new prime minister, replacing the long-serving Sheikh Nasser al Mohammad al Sabah. He had survived several no-confidence votes in parliament, but was the target of a growing campaign for his dismissal over allegations that government officials funneled payoffs to bank accounts outside the country.