The “National Dignity” march is scheduled to be held by Kuwaiti opposition groups and activists in various locations of the capital on Friday as Kuwaitis continue to voice discontent with changes to an electoral law, which they argue would skew the poll in favor of pro-government candidates.
The opposition called for protests after the government announced last month it was holding elections on December 1 and would change the electoral law “to preserve national unity.”
Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah used emergency powers in October to cut the number of votes per citizen to one from four.
However, activists say the decision to change the legislation by the country’s emir, whose family has ruled Kuwait for more than 250 years, is aimed at electing a rubber-stamp parliament.
“We will not recognize the next government and its parliament,” former opposition MP Musallam al-Barrak said on Thursday.
In a similar move, tens of thousands of Kuwaitis streamed out into the streets in the capital on November 11 to demand the abrogation of the disputed electoral law.
Kuwait was the first Arab state in the Persian Gulf to establish an elected parliament in 1962. However, the al-Sabah family remained in control of most key posts, including the premiership and the ministries of defense, interior, and foreign affairs.
