Kuwait’s Constitutional Court annulling the parliament elected in 2022 and reinstituting the previous national assembly threatens to increase vote apathy, experts say.
The ruling issued on Sunday annulled the elections of last September because the constitutional court considered the decree dissolving the last parliament invalid. The assembly from 2020 was reinstated.
Specifically, the court ruled on four petitions challenging the validity of the election process filed by former MPs who failed to get re-elected last September.
The court in its final verdict said the decree that dissolved the 2020 National Assembly and a second that invited Kuwaiti voters to elect a new parliament were both “invalid” and not in line with the constitution.
The court also ordered the previous parliament be fully reinstated and regained its full constitutional powers with immediate effect.
With the return of the 2020 parliament, long-term veteran MP Marzouq Al Ghanim will also be reinstated as National Assembly Speaker.
Seen as a long-time supporter of the government, many expect Mr Ghanim to clash again with opposition MPs and prolong the feud between the government and elected parliament.
Bader Al Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University, said the move risked exacerbating voter fatigue if Kuwaitis are expected to endure more political stagnation and the prospect of heading to further elections in the near future.
“[The] Kuwaiti street [is] exhausted and in ridicule mode today. KCC looks at letter of the law while people see their reality and stuck in a perpetual impasse. Kuwait’s politics needs a reset. I’ve been calling for a national dialogue and new constitution. New thinking badly needed,” Mr Al Saif wrote on Twitter.
Professor of law and constitutional expert Dr Mohammed Al Faili said laws passed by the 2022 parliament will remain in place, despite the dissolution.
Unless the Emir or Crown Prince issue another decree dissolving parliament, the reinstituted national assembly is expected to resume its duties for the next two years with the next general election expected to take place in 2024.
“Based on the ruling, the dissolved parliament will complete its remaining period in accordance with the constitution, and the remaining period is calculated from the day the invalid dissolution decree was issued,” Kuwaiti law expert Dr Haitham Al Own told Al Qabas newspaper.
“But that does not mean neglecting the right of the Emir granted to him by the constitution to dissolve parliament yet again if the need arises,” Mr Al Own added.
The political impasse between the 2022 parliament and the government under Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al Sabah has centred in recent months on a controversial draft bill calling on the government to take over the consumer and personal loans of Kuwaiti citizens, with an estimated value of several billion Kuwaiti dinars.
The government says the move would be too expensive, costing almost $46 billion in public funds and MPs say it would cost less than $6.5 billion.
The Kuwaiti Constitutional Court’s ruling on Sunday also marked the two-week deadline for reappointed Sheikh Ahmad to form a government based on the constitution’s mandate.
RESULTS: 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING - EUROPE
Albania 0 Italy 1
Finland 2 Turkey 2
Macedonia 4 Liechtenstein
Iceland 2 Kosovo 0
Israel 0 Spain 1
Moldova 0 Austria 1
Serbia 1 Georgia 0
Ukraine 0 Croatia 2
Wales 0 Ireland 1
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'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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RESULTS
ATP China Open
G Dimitrov (BUL x3) bt R Bautista Agut (ESP x5)
7-6, 4-6, 6-2
R Nadal (ESP x1) bt J Isner (USA x6)
6-4, 7-6
WTA China Open
S Halep (ROU x2) bt D Kasatkina (RUS)
6-2, 6-1
J Ostapenko (LAT x9) bt S Cirstea (ROU)
6-4, 6-4
ATP Japan Open
D Schwartzman (ARG x8) bt S Johnson (USA)
6-0, 7-5
D Goffin (BEL x4) bt R Gasquet (FRA)
7-5, 6-2
M Cilic (CRO x1) bt R Harrison (USA)
6-2, 6-0
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
