This was disclosed by constitutional expert Dr. Adel Al-Khadhari, who warned that any citizen can appeal the results of the Municipal Council elections scheduled on May 2013 if the present law isn’t adjusted before that.
The Cabinet referred the parliamentary electoral system to the Constitutional Court last month in order to verify the constitutionality of the distribution of constituencies, with a verdict expected to be made in late September. If the law is found unconstitutional, sources believe that the government not only would be required to change the parliament’s electoral law, but also the law of the Municipal Council, “which has only seven months left in its term”.
The sources, who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity, explain that the Municipal Council’s electoral law, which divides Kuwait into ten constituencies, “lacks justice in voter distribution”.
For example, the number of voters in the first constituency which represents Al-Sharq is 15170, while it reaches 58092 in the fourth constituency representing Hawally. Moreover, the sources indicate that nearly 40 thousand people will be left out of voting in the next Municipal Council elections, as they live in 18 areas still to be assigned to any of the existing ten constituencies. Additionally, there are other areas established after the last elections in 2009, such as the Jaber Al-Ahmad and Sabah Al-Ahmad areas that have yet to be included in voting. (Rai)
Separately, the Majority Bloc, a coalition of oppositionists who dominated the majority seats in the annulled 2012 parliament, have reportedly rejected the idea to allow its members in the 2009 parliament to resign out of the belief that such an action “would justify a call for the 2009 parliament to convene”.
The idea was reportedly pitched during a meeting for the bloc at the dewaniya of Mubarak Al-Wa’lan Sunday, and rejected categorically as “a huge mistake that contributes to prolonging the process of dissolving the 2009 parliament”, given that their resignations can be followed by by-elections to fill the vacant seats if they take the opportunity to convene.
According to sources with knowledge of the case, The Majority Bloc is expected to release a statement explaining the reasons behind their step not to present written resignations from the 2009 parliament.
The statement could be made following a meeting set next Sunday at MP Ali Al-Deqbasi’s dewaniya, during which the bloc plans to evaluate the political developments following Monday’s mass demonstration against challenging the electoral system’s constitutionality. (Qabas)
The 2009 parliament was dissolved in early December 2011 following allegations of corruption, hitting members from its pro-government majority, which in turn fueled public pressure that led to the Cabinet’s resignation in late November of the same year.
It became reinstated last June following a Constitutional Court verdict that found its dissolution process unconstitutional, and subsequently annulled the parliament elected in February 2012.
