Addressing a press conference during his first visit to the Assembly following the landmark constitutional court ruling last week, Khorafi said members of the new Cabinet must take the oath in the Assembly so as to avoid a repeat of a similar constitutional controversy in the future.
But he insisted that he does not have guarantees that a majority of the 2009 MPs will attend the meeting and if no majority is secured, “I will refer the issue to HH the Amir to take whatever action is needed for such occasions”.
In an unprecedented verdict last week, the constitutional court, whose rulings cannot be challenged, nullified the general elections held in February, which meant the scrapping of the opposition-dominated 2012 Assembly, and reinstated the 2009 Assembly.
The ruling was strongly criticized by the opposition, which considered it “null and void” as thousands of its supporters staged a massive rally late Tuesday night to demand dissolving the revived Assembly and holding fresh polls. Several speakers at the rally acknowledged the ruling and said it must be implemented.
Khorafi said he returned to Kuwait from abroad in order to complete the required constitutional procedures after the formation of the new Cabinet, adding that if the formation takes a long time, he might leave and come back.
The speaker cautioned that statements by the information minister that the new Cabinet does not require to take the oath in the Assembly “may lead the country into a new constitutional crisis”.
The liberal National Action Bloc meanwhile warned in a statement yesterday that rejecting court orders amounts to a coup against the constitution, in a direct reference to the rejection of the opposition of the constitutional court verdict.
The bloc stressed that instigating the people against the judiciary and exploiting the ongoing crisis as a “fuel for election battles is an act of burning the country”.
The statement insisted that the bloc, which comprises five MPs, considers that the 2009 Assembly is like dissolved despite being revived by the court because the objective reasons for dissolving it last December still exist, which means that fresh elections must be held.
The bloc warned that the country’s future was at stake and called for rejecting attempts to undermine the judiciary and spread chaos, adding that such responsibility lies mainly on the government in addition to political groups and the Assembly.
The opposition however has vowed that it will fight the election this time to achieve key constitutional reforms that will eventually lead to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.
Islamist opposition MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei said the immediate reforms needed include that the government must secure the Assembly’s confidence before assuming office, that ministers do not become members of the Assembly unless elected and that the Assembly should not be dissolved before the lapse of two years.