Kuwaitis started casting votes Saturday to elect a new parliament in this oil-rich Gulf state which has been rocked by political turmoil that resulted in dissolving two parliaments in as many years.

Twenty-seven women are among 275 candidates running for the 50-seat legislative body, after a campaign focusing on ways to end political wrangling and put the wealthy OPEC state back on development track.

The early elections, the second in two years, were called by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah in March after he dissolved parliament following a standoff between the government and MPs.

Kuwait has been in political turmoil for much of the past two years, which have seen four cabinets resign and several ministers grilled and forced to quit, stalling economic development.

The daily Al-Rai said in an editorial on Friday that the election will "determine the political future of Kuwait" and voters will answer the question "what Kuwait do we need?"

The elections will be contested on a new system under which the number of constituencies has been cut from 25 to five, a demand which united the opposition in the June 2006 polls.

Women are standing and voting for only the second time. No female candidate won a seat in the last polls which were also called after a political dispute led to the dissolution of parliament.

Islamist, liberal and nationalist opposition groups are fielding about 45 candidates and backing 20 others, but they are less united than they were two years ago. Thirty-eight members of the outgoing parliament are seeking re-election.

The heated campaign, which witnessed unprecedented charges of infighting within the Al-Sabah ruling family, was cut short by the death of former emir Sheikh Saad Abdullah al-Sabah.

Sheikh Saad, who ruled for only nine days before being deposed by parliament on health grounds in January 2006, died on Tuesday after a long illness. A three-day mourning period and public holiday was declared.

The wealthy OPEC member has been hit in recent months by sectarian tensions between majority Sunnis and minority Shiites, as well as tribal and even social divisions, all of which are expected to affect the outcome of the ballot.

Analysts have predicted that more than half the outgoing MPs will lose their seats, but Sunni Islamists and tribal conservatives are expected to retain a majority in the 50-seat parliament.

During the election campaign some candidates made blunt and unprecedented accusations that power struggles within the Al-Sabah dynasty were behind the political rows which have plagued the country in recent years.

Some candidates have accused Al-Sabah family members of interfering in the elections, but no one has questioned the legitimacy of the ruling family, whose members hold key government portfolios.

Kuwait, in 1962, was the first Gulf Arab nation to introduce a parliamentary system.

In recent years it has witnessed calls for the legalisation of political parties, which remain banned although political groups act as de facto parties. There have also been calls for a commoner to head the government, which is traditionally led by a member of the ruling family.

Parliament, which is is elected for a four-year term, has extensive legislative and monitoring powers. It can question individual ministers and vote them out of office, but it cannot bring down an entire cabinet.