KUWAIT (Reuters) - Women won four seats in Kuwaits parliament, a first in the Gulf Arab states history, but with many of the same faces back, Saturdays election is unlikely to end a political deadlock that has delayed economic reforms. Apart from al-Awadhi, Kuwaits first women lawmakers include Massouma al-Mubarak, who became Kuwaits first female minister in 2005, the year women were first given the right to vote and run for office. The others are US-educated professors Salwa al-Jassar and leading economist Rola Dashti. Women won no seats in the 2006 and 2008 elections in the conservative state where politics is still seen as a mans game. Sunnis lost some ground while Shias and liberals made small gains, but analysts said the changes were not enough to end a long-running standoff between parliament and government that has pushed Kuwait from one crisis to the next. People voted for change because people are fed up with deadlocks. It is time to focus on our priorities inside the parliament, Aseel al-Awadhi, one of Kuwaits first women lawmakers told Reuters after her win. Kuwaits main index ended 0.38 percent higher, offering a lukewarm reception to the changes. This is a historic election... but the so-called deadlock MPs are also back and we hope they change course, said Ali al-Baghli, a former oil minister. Some analysts say the appointment of a strong prime minister and cabinet is key to resolving Kuwaits political crisis. Kuwait has had five cabinets in the past three years, and the ruler has reappointed his nephew, Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah, as prime minister every time. Successive cabinets have been bogged down by allegations of corruption or misconduct from parliamentary deputies. We need to have a government that is able to lead and move forward with reforms... I think there is a possibility that we will see a similar crisis, said political analyst Shafiq Ghabra. The question is which way will the government move? Sunnis won around 11 seats on Saturday, down from some 21 in the last assembly, Reuters calculated based on a list of names published by state news agency KUNA. Liberals won about eight seats, up from around seven. Lawmakers from the Shia community, about a third of the Kuwaiti population, rose by four to nine. The rest went to tribesmen who have long dominated the assembly. The Salafist Movement, a Sunni bloc, had urged voters to boycott women candidates during the election campaign. Although its political system resembles Western democracy more closely than that of any other nation in the Gulf Arab region, Kuwait has fallen behind neighbours like Dubai, which have grown into commercial, financial and tourist centres.