Kuwait National Assembly's Abdullah Al Salem Hall in Kuwait City on January 11. AFP
Kuwait National Assembly's Abdullah Al Salem Hall in Kuwait City on January 11. AFP
Kuwait National Assembly's Abdullah Al Salem Hall in Kuwait City on January 11. AFP
Kuwait National Assembly's Abdullah Al Salem Hall in Kuwait City on January 11. AFP

Kuwait reinstates old parliament after annulling 2022 vote


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Kuwait's Constitutional Court on Sunday nullified last year's legislative elections and ruled that the previous parliament must be reinstated, state media said.

The ruling was made after discrepancies in the decree dissolving the previous parliament, the official Kuna news agency reported.

The September polls were the most inclusive in a decade, and opposition members took a parliamentary majority with 28 out of 50 seats.

Many in the opposition had stayed out of elections in the past decade because of what they regarded as alleged meddling in parliament by the executive authorities.

“The Kuwaiti Constitutional Court issued a verdict on Sunday annulling the results of the 2022 National Assembly elections,” Kuna said.

It also ruled to reinstate the parliament that was elected in 2020 but dissolved following orders by the crown prince in June, it said.

“The dissolved council, from the date of issuance of this ruling … will regain its constitutional authority, as though it was never dissolved,” president of the Constitutional Court Mohammad bin Naji told lawyers and journalists.

Marzouq Al Ghanim returns as Parliament Speaker, a position he had held since 2013 but lost in last year's poll. He replaces Ahmed Al Saadoun.

Lawyer Nawaf Al Yassin said Sunday's ruling followed several electoral appeals.

“The appeals relate to the invalidity of the electoral process, the decrees calling for elections, and the decree dissolving the previous National Assembly,” he told AFP.

'Incorrect'

Kuwait is the only Gulf state with a fully elected parliament. One of the world's biggest oil exporters, it adopted a parliamentary system in 1962.

But repeated political crises have led to state paralysis and regular disputes with cabinet.

In January, Kuwait's government resigned three months after it was sworn because of disputes with politicians. It was the sixth government in three years.

Sunday's ruling by the constitutional court was welcomed by lawmakers who will now return to their posts, including Saadoun Hammad Al Otaibi.

“The ruling indicates that the Kuwaiti judiciary is impartial, despite attempts by some to cast doubt on it,” said Mr Al Otaibi, who filed an appeal after losing his parliamentary seat. “I expected the elections to be invalidated”.

But lawmakers removed from their posts by the latest decision were critical.

“The dissolution of parliament is an incorrect move,” said Walid Al Tabtabai, arguing that the Constitutional Court does not have the prerogative to undertake such a move.

“Lawmakers should not give in to this decision and the 2022 parliament should resume its work,” he said in a video posted on Twitter. “The return of parliament is inevitable.”

How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers

Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.

It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.

The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.

Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.

Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.

He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.

AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”

A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.

Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.

Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.

Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.

By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.

Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.

In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”

Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.

She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.

Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.

Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP%204
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMain%20%E2%80%93%206.7%22%20FHD%20Dynamic%20Amoled%202X%2C%202640%20x%201080%2C%2022%3A9%2C%20425ppi%2C%20HDR10%2B%2C%20up%20to%20120Hz%3B%20cover%20%E2%80%93%201.9%22%20Super%20Amoled%2C%20512%20x%20260%2C%20302ppi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProcessor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Qualcomm%20Snapdragon%208%2B%20Gen%201%2C%204nm%2C%20octa-core%3B%20Adreno%20730%20GPU%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMemory%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECapacity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20128%2F256%2F512GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPlatform%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Android%2012%2C%20One%20UI%204.1.1%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMain%20camera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%2012MP%20ultra-wide%20(f%2F2.2)%20%2B%2012MP%20wide%20(f%2F1.8)%2C%20OIS%2C%20portrait%2C%20super%20slo-mo%2C%20hyperlapse%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204K%4030%2F60fps%2C%20full-HD%4030%2F60fps%2C%20HD%4030fps%3B%20slo-mo%40240%2F960fps%3B%20HDR10%2B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFront%20camera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010MP%20(f%2F2.4)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203700mAh%2C%2025W%20fast%20charging%2C%2015W%20wireless%20charging%2C%20reverse%20wireless%20charging%2C%20'all-day'%20life%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205G%3B%20Wi-Fi%2C%20Bluetooth%205.2%2C%20NFC%20(Samsung%20Pay)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20USB-C%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECards%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nano-SIM%20%2B%20eSIM%3B%20no%20microSD%20slot%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColours%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bora%20purple%2C%20graphite%2C%20pink%20gold%2C%20blue%3B%20Bespoke%20Edition%20in%20select%20countries%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Flip%204%2C%20USB-C-to-USB-C%20cable%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dh3%2C799%20%2F%20Dh3%2C999%20%2F%20Dh4%2C449%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIXTURES (all times UAE)

Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)

Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)

PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

Updated: March 19, 2023, 1:45 PM`