Kuwait Times, Sunday, Sep 25, 2022 | Safar 29, 1444
Courts to rule on controversial law, disqualified candidates
Kuwait:
The constitutional court is
scheduled today to issue its ruling on whether a highly controversial law is in
line with the constitution as the court of cassation is expected to decide if 10
candidates can run in the election. The rulings of the two top courts are
final. The law under challenge was passed by the 2013 assembly and amended by
the 2016 assembly and stipulates to bar for life from running for public office
people who were convicted for abusing the Amir. The law came under attack by
candidates as repressive and unconstitutional.
The 10 candidates were disqualified by an interior ministry commission on being
convicted in political cases. They were returned to the race by the court of
appeals and the court of cassation will decide their future based on the ruling
of the constitutional court. The courts’ decision must be issued before the
September 29 elections.
In the meantime, Twitter yesterday suspended the account of a Kuwaiti Islamic
candidate who called for issuing a law to criminalize homosexuality in the
country. Jarrah Al-Fouzan’s account on the social media platform was blocked
after he said that all Kuwaitis are unanimous on issuing a law that makes
homosexuality and same-sex association a crime.
The Anti-Corruption Public Authority (Nazaha) called in a statement yesterday on
the next national assembly to study and pass draft legislation related to
fighting corruption. Nazaha said that the series of corruption-related draft
laws have been with the national assembly legal and legislative committee and
should be studied and passed in order to allow Kuwait to join the United Nations
Convention Against Corruption.
Fighting corruption dominated the election campaign in the run to the general
elections next week. Candidate Mubarak Al-Nejadah, a former MP running in the
fourth constituency, thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah for
ordering the registration of all stateless students after many of them were
rejected by a central agency supervising tens of thousands of stateless people,
locally known as Bedouns.
Speaking on Al-Rai TV, Nejadah said he is confident that the decades-old issue
of Bedouns will be resolved by the prime minister. Candidate Ali Al-Deqbasi, a
former MP running from the second constituency, said in a television interview
that Kuwait at this stage needs a national agenda agreed by a group of wise and
dedicated lawmakers. The agenda should focus on allowing the national assembly
to perform.
Deqbasi said that the problem facing Kuwaiti politics has been preventing the
national assembly from doing its work as there are some people who do not want
the assembly to “open some files and cases”. Fuhaid Al-Deehani, running in the
fourth constituency, called on the next prime minister to form a cabinet that
has the solutions to the country’s problems and is capable of taking the
appropriate decisions to achieve the goals of development.
He said he specifically wants the next government to have a solution to the
issue of consumer loans on Kuwaiti citizens, adding that the government should
at least abolish the interest on such loans and then study a durable
solution. Candidate Khaled Al-Omaira, contesting in the first constituency, said
he believes that all problems in Kuwait are fabricated and can be easily
resolved with will and a good administration. The next prime minister should
select capable and competent ministers and not based on political affiliations.