Kuwait’s leadership decided to once again disband parliament and hold fresh elections, citing a “painful” political scene in the Gulf region’s most democratic country.
(Bloomberg) — Kuwait’s leadership decided to once again disband parliament and hold fresh elections, citing a “painful” political scene in the Gulf region’s most democratic country.
The parliament, elected in 2020, was first dissolved last year and a new parliament elected in September. But the results of those elections were annulled last month by the constitutional court, which reinstated the 2020 National Assembly after dissolving the one elected in 2022. Kuwait’s political quagmire has delayed fiscal reform and set back economic progress in the OPEC-member state.
“Exiting the consequences of this political scene requires us to go back to the constitution,” Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah announced in a televised address on behalf of the ruler, his half-brother Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah. The decision is “in respect of the will of the people.,” he said, adding that fresh polls will be held in the coming months.
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Sheikh Meshal, who has run the country’s daily affairs since the ailing ruler largely withdrew from the public eye, promised a number of political and legal reforms “to move the state into a new phase of discipline.” The reforms are also to prevent any abuse of power, and guarantee the neutrality and integrity of the judiciary, he said.
Last month’s court decision plunged the country into deeper political conflict, and laid bare the apparent rifts at higher levels of authority. Kuwaitis have voiced dismay and a loss of faith in their political system, which is stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of new parliaments and governments, causing uncertainty, and hindering plans for reform and economic diversification.
Still, the decision to dissolve the parliament was broadly welcomed with many Kuwaitis expressing relief, particularly those who saw the 2020 assembly as not representative of the people.
“The most interesting part of the speech is what it doesn’t reveal,” said Kuwait University professor Bader Al-Saif. “It promises a wave of legal and political reforms and a new phase. Kuwaitis are eagerly waiting for this long-awaited new phase.”
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