The Cabinet was expected to approve a recommendation to HH the Amir to dissolve the 2009 Assembly and call for fresh elections. The pro-government 2009 Assembly was dissolved in December last year following street protests but was reinstated by the constitutional court in a landmark ruling on June 20 after it nullified the Feb 2012 elections and scrapped the new opposition-dominated Assembly. The calls on the government to dissolve the Assembly intensified after the constitutional court last week rejected a government petition challenging the constitutionality of the electoral constituency law. The government had linked dissolving the Assembly to the court’s decision.
Deqbasi warned the government against introducing any changes to the constituency law, saying this would amount to “political suicide”. He added that all indications give the impression that the struggle will be for a long time and that “we are still at the beginning”. Islamist MP Faisal Al-Mislem warned that the government is headed towards a “security solution” and all signs prove this. He called on all Cabinet ministers to resign in support of the people’s demands. Mislem said that no one wants to see chaos in the country but the Assembly must be dissolved immediately.
Liberal MP Abdulrahman Al-Anjari accused the government of resisting change and development through instigating political instability, interfering in elections through “dirty money” and conspiring against the Assembly. Anjari claimed that Kuwait affairs are being managed in a mentality that dates back to the 1950s and “this does not help to achieve reforms and positive change”. He also charged that there are some people who are trying to delay dissolving the Assembly and others who are trying to promote the idea of reducing the number of votes from four to two by meeting the Amir. “Their goal is to produce a weak parliament that they can easily control,” said Anjari, who added that the main focus of the ongoing disputes is economic in nature as certain quarters are trying to control the country’s resources.
Meanwhile, a court yesterday sentenced nine tribal activists to two years in jail each for storming a television station ahead of February legislative elections, a lawyer said. The lower court also fined two other activists KD 100 each while acquitting a 12th man, defence lawyer Al-Humaidi Al-Subaie said on his Twitter account. The men were among hundreds of tribesmen who clashed with police on Jan 31 as they attempted to storm the offices of Al-Watan satellite channel which was hosting pro-government candidate Nabeel Al-Fadl.
The unrest came a day after angry tribesmen burned down the election tent of pro-government candidate Mohammed Al-Juwaihel following remarks he made that were deemed offensive to the Mutairi tribe. Tribesmen consider Fadl, a strong critic of the opposition, as a close ally of Juwaihel. Twenty policemen and four protesters were injured in the clashes in which about a dozen tribesmen managed to storm the television station and destroy some furniture, before police arrested them. During trial, the men had denied any wrongdoing. The ruling is not final as it can be challenged before the appeals and supreme courts.
Obaid Al-Wasmi, a member of the scrapped 2012 Assembly, strongly lashed out at the court verdict. He claimed that there is no equality in court verdicts as several members of the ruling family committed crimes but were not taken to court. He asked if there is a special law only for ruling family members.
Separately, for the second time this year, a third-year cadet at the Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences died when he had a heart seizure during physical training exercises. Informed sources said that the cadet had breathing problems during training and was rushed to Al-Sabah hospital before he died.
