Polls last year showed opposition members winning 28 out of 50 seats, giving them a majority in parliament.
Kuwait’s Constitutional Court has ruled that last September’s parliamentary elections, in which the opposition won, were void and the previous parliament must be reinstated.
Sunday’s move comes at a time of renewed friction between parliament and the elected government and following this month’s re-appointment of the country’s prime minister, their government has resigned in January in a confrontation with parliament.
Last year, Kuwait’s crown prince dissolved parliament and called early elections in an attempt to end the country’s long-running political strife that has hampered fiscal reform.
September polls – The most comprehensive in a decade — saw opposition members win 28 of the 50 seats, giving them a majority in parliament. The vote marks a victory for opposition figures, many of whom have stayed out of the election for the past decade because of what they accuse of executive interference in parliament.
However, Justice Mohammad bin Naji on Sunday said the court had declared the dissolution of parliament null and void and had canceled early elections to be held in September.
“The constitutional rights of the dissolved parliament will be restored from the date of this ruling,” he said at the hearing attended by reporters.
‘The invalidity of the electoral process’
Lawyer Nawaf Al-Yassin said the ruling was made after several electoral appeals.
“The appeals concern the invalidity of the electoral process, the decree calling for the election and the decree dissolving the previous National Assembly,” he told AFP news agency.
Kuwait, an OPEC oil producer, bans political parties but has given its legislature more influence than similar bodies in other Gulf monarchies.
خطاب سمو ولي العهد ٢٢ ٢٢-٦-٢٠٢٢ والنطق السامي السامي ١٨ ١٨-١٠-٢٠٢٢ أكد وبوضوح اجراءات الحل والانتخابات والانتخابات تمت القوانين والاجراءات الدستورية وحكم اليوم يثبت بأن بأن جميعها جميعها كانت لذلك من بإبداء بإبداء الرأي الرأي الرأي الرأي .. الكويت لا لا لا لا لا لا لا لا لا لا لا لا لا لا الازل
— الح اشور (@SalehAshoor) March 19, 2023
Pandemic: Speeches by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on June 22, 2022 and from the Spokesperson on October 18, 2022 made it clear that the dissolution and election took place in accordance with the law and constitutional procedure. Today’s court ruling shows them all wrong. Therefore, it is necessary to blame the person who gave legal advice… Kuwait does not deserve such antics.
Political disagreements frequently lead to cabinet reshuffles and the dissolution of parliament, hindering investment and reforms aimed at reducing the country’s heavy dependence on oil revenues.
A lawmaker from the dissolved parliament, Abdullah Al-Turaiji, welcomed the move for “correcting the government’s mistake in dealing with parliament”.
Political stability in Kuwait has traditionally depended on cooperation between the government and parliament.
While the Kuwaiti leadership has responded to a number of opposition demands, including an amnesty for dissidents, key reform proposals such as the debt law continue to face an impasse on public debt. legislative side.
