KUWAIT: The election results have sent out a clear message to the corrupt who have spread chaos in Kuwait, said Ahmad Al-Saadoun while speaking to the press. "We are living in a celebration of democracy," Al-Saadoun replied when asked about plans to contest for the speaker's post. "We are now celebrating the return of veteran 'warriors' that Kuwaitis know and trust," he said. MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabae, another anti-government figure who won in Third Constituency, said that Al-Saadoun is the opposition blocs' number one choice for the speaker post.
He asserted in statements made to Al-Rai "the Cabinet's intervention in the process of voting for the speaker's post and committees' members, prompts demand for a constitutional amendment to remove that authority from the Cabinet." Al-Tabtabaei's attack on the Cabinet did not stop at that, he argued that it failed to prevent bribery and vote-buying during the election process, and accused it of being "an accomplice to crime."
Debutante MP Dr Obaid Al-Wasmi, who is already cementing his position at the opposition's frontline, issued a 24 hour ultimatum for "anyone who took part in corruption, suppressed freedom or theft of public funds" to leave Kuwait. After being announced winner in Fourth Constituency elections, he announced that "all corruption files will be opened," promising "tough times" for "the government and all allies who took to the same route of corruption."
Opposition leader MP Musallam Al-Barrak, who returns to the Parliament with a record-breaking 30,118 votes urged the Cabinet to "understand the message that people wanted to deliver," highlighting that the astounding success of opposition MPs "leaves no choice but form a Cabinet comprising statesmen who believe in the Constitution and protect public funds."
Meanwhile, debutante MP Adel Al-Yahya rejected use of the word 'surprising' to describe his success in the Third Constituency, second to only leading oppositionist Faisal Al-Mislem. A leading youth activist, Al-Yahya vowed to "activate articles of the Youth Movements Charter" - a document signed by candidates to adopt reform and anti-corruption. He further announced plans to run for membership in the Parliament's legislative committee.
Shiite MP Ahmad Lari returns to Parliament after a four-year hiatus. On his plans, he reiterated to exert efforts to combat corruption "whether in the opposition or pro-government." First-time Shiite lawmaker Abdulhameed Dashty also announced that he would cooperate with opposition blocs "if they adopted serious approaches that serve Kuwait in the first place," announcing that he considers running for the legislative and foreign affairs parliamentary committees.
MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan, whose victory in the First Constituency caught many by surprise, trumping more experienced fellow Shiite lawmakers like Hussain Al-Qallaf, Saleh Ashour, Adnan Abdulsamad and Lari. He said that Kuwaitis will only accept a Parliament "that will boost national unity by legislating laws to protect it, including anti-corruption and transparency reinforcement regulations."
Islamist Osama Al-Shaheen, another fresh face from the First Constituency who entered into a coalition with fellow Islamist MP Mohammad Al-Kandari, said that election of a conservative majority in the parliament "reflects the composition of the Kuwaiti society which maintains values of conservatism without fundamentalism," reported Al-Qabas.
Salafist MP Mohammad Hayef, who finished second only to Al-Barrak in Fourth Constituency elections, said that the Islamist majority in the Parliament gives good opportunity to introduce a proposal to amend Article 2 of the Constitution, making Sharia law the only source of legislation instead of being the main source of legislation. "Amending Article 2 is a top priority along with political, security and social reform," Hayef said in statements to Al-Watan.
MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl argued that the Islamist-tribal majority in the Parliament "will place obstacles in the road of developmental work" due to conflict of interests. "While we were hoping that the national identity would be restored, it is actually scary to see voters bring a movement which accords top priority to the tribe to power, without recognizing national identity," Al-Fadhl added.
First time MP Riyadh Al-Adasani, who finished second in Second Constituency elections ahead of prominent figures like Mohammad Al-Saqr, Ali Al-Rashid and Marzouq Al-Ghanim, said that He would focus on "enforcing Articles 7 and 8 of the Constitution to achieve full equality among citizens in all fields." He also announced efforts to combat monopoly "to reduce prices and open more opportunities for Kuwaiti youth to enter the commercial field," reported Al-Watan.
In other news, Third Constituency candidate Sheikha Al-Ghanim announced that she would challenge the election results, arguing that "numerous illegal activities" took place during the elections. She added in her appeal to the Constitutional Court, she would ask re-elections to be held "to fully insure equality among all candidates."
Al-Ghanim joins former MP and First onstituency candidate Maasouma Al-Mubarak to announce plans to challenge First Constituency election results shortly after final results dropped her from the tenth spot of preliminary results, reported Al-Qabas.
© Kuwait Times 2012
