Kuwaitis will be voting for a new parliament for the fourth time since December 2020. EPA
Kuwaitis will be voting for a new parliament for the fourth time since December 2020. EPA
Kuwaitis will be voting for a new parliament for the fourth time since December 2020. EPA
Kuwaitis will be voting for a new parliament for the fourth time since December 2020. EPA

Gulf

Kuwait to hold snap parliamentary elections on April 4

Vote during final days of Ramadan follows dissolution of the National Assembly by Emir Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad

Ismaeel Naar
Ismaeel Naar

February 28, 2024

  • English
  • Arabic

Kuwait will hold snap parliamentary elections on April 4, coinciding with the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan.

“The Cabinet approved a draft Emiri decree inviting voters to elect the National Assembly on Thursday, April 4,” government spokesman Amer Al Ajmi said.

Registration of candidates will begin on March 4, he added.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad issued a decree dissolving parliament earlier this month, after a dispute over comments made in the National Assembly by MP Abdul Karim Al Kandari that were considered insulting to the ruler.

The decree cited “unrestrained, insulting language” that failed to respect the emir’s position.

Sheikh Meshal, previously the Crown Prince, became Emir after the death of his predecessor and half-brother Sheikh Nawaf in December.

The dissolution of the assembly came amid an extended political deadlock that has prevented parliament from passing reforms to diversify Kuwait's economy, while budget deficits and low foreign investment have added to rising frustration among the population.

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad said after taking office in December that there was 'no room' for settling political scores between the legislative and executive branches of government. EPA
Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad said after taking office in December that there was 'no room' for settling political scores between the legislative and executive branches of government. EPA

Sheikh Meshal warned after taking office that there was "no room" for settling political scores between the legislative and executive branches of government.

The National Assembly has been dissolved twice since December 2020, and one election was nullified, meaning Kuwaitis would head to the polls for the fourth time in four years.

Observers fear a low voter turnout in the coming election, especially given it is being held during the holy month of Ramadan.

According to Kuwait's constitution, elections must take place within two months of the dissolution of parliament.

"Kuwaitis are in fatigue mode and hyper-voting is no solution," Bader Alsaif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University, told The National.

Voting on April 4 will be held without an election commission, after the National Assembly's new election law was temporarily suspended until October 1 under a decree issued last week.

Sheikh Meshal's decree said the previous election law would be reinstated for the interim.

The dissolved National Assembly had issued a law to appoint a new independent authority to oversee parliamentary elections as part of political reforms.

“It was impossible to appoint judges to lead the commission within a short time as required by the suspended law,” the decree said.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

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Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

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The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

 

This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.

 
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