Marzouq Al Ghanim, the Speaker of Kuwait’s reinstated National Assembly from 2020, has invited parliament and government to convene its regular sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday amid calls for an appeal against the Constitutional Court’s ruling annulling the 2022 parliament.
The Constitutional Court last month nullified the elections for parliament held in September and ruled that the previous parliament must be reinstated. The country's highest court said it found discrepancies in the emiri decree dissolving the parliament elected in 2020.
Mr Al Ghanim’s agenda for the sessions includes a debate over the emiri orders regarding the formation of the next cabinet and swearing in the new government.
More than 27 political figures, including members of parliament elected in both 2020 and 2022, former MPs and political activists issued a statement at the weekend that called on the government to challenge the court's decision to nullify the election of the 2022 parliament.
“Duty requires the Council of Ministers to act immediately and strive vigorously and seriously, mobilising all legal agencies to find a way out of the repercussions of this ruling that nullifies the procedures for enforcing the Emir’s decision and fulfilling his honourable promise to his loyal people,” they said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al Sabah has not formally announced his new cabinet after he was reappointed premier on March 5 by an emiri decree. Sheikh Ahmad’s government resigned in January after months of political tension with the 2022 National Assembly over several issues.
The next cabinet will be Sheikh Ahmad’s third in less than nine months.
Kuwaiti political observers expect the coming parliamentary session to be adjourned as Sheikh Ahmad is expected to decline Mr Al Ghanim’s invitation to take part, in part due to his reluctance to take the oath of office in an assembly that was dissolved in 2020 by his own father, the emir.
Alia Al Khaled, who was elected to the 2022 parliament, said the decision of the Constitutional Court was like “adding insult to injury and it pushed the country several steps backwards”.
“Kuwait is going through a critical stage on all levels and unfortunately, the ruling of the Constitutional Court increased the complexity of the current political scene … we began to witness the consequences of this ruling on Kuwait and its people, dividing it into those who support it versus its opponents,” Ms Al Khaled said on social media at the weekend.
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 between the parliament and government.
