KUWAIT CITY: The conflict between former MP and Third Constituency candidate, Ahmad Al-Mulaifi, and government and a number of royal family members took a new turn after rumors started spreading that the former MP was taken to the State Security Department to question him on his comments made during the opening of his elections center, reports Al-Seyassah daily. Allegedly, Al-Mulaifi had claimed that there were conflicts among the members of the royal family like Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahed because "each of them wanted to be a big head in the family."
Sources say Al-Mulaifi said it is not right to have more than one leader in the royal family and asked Kuwaitis not to accept this situation or "they will be accomplices in this crime." He also accused HH the Prime Minister of paying KD 9 million to the owner of Elaf news website Othman Al-Amair to influence the results of 2008 Parliament elections and claimed that there is some relation between Elaf and the Prime Minister and that the website was a part of the conflict in the country.
Elaf website, however, completely denied these accusations and called them baseless. The Interior Ministry too denied reports that Al-Mulaifi was taken to the State Security Department. Meanwhile, information picked by the daily indicates that the government is considering fixing surveillance cameras inside the designated voting centers, Al-Jareedah reports, Sources said the measure aims at keeping an eye on activities of voters and candidates, in addition to a heavy security presence in and out of the centers. The measure is also in response to a directive by the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad asking the Minister of Interior Sheikh Jaber Al-Khaled to take precautionary measures against illegal voting practices, sources noted.
© Arab Times 2008
