KUWAIT: The government is expected to hold an extraordinary meeting today to decide the date for the forthcoming election following the ruling of the constitutional court that dissolved the National Assembly and upheld the single-vote decree. The government is also expected to approve the decree that would officially dissolve the Assembly and other decrees to withdraw Amiri decrees issued last year that were nullified by the constitutional court in its Sunday's ruling. The date of the election represents a dilemma for the government and other quarters as fresh polls must be held within two months and the deadline is the middle of August.
The problem arises from the fact that the holy fasting month of Ramadan starts this year around July 9 and ends Aug 8, which leaves just a few days after the Eid holidays for the vote to be held. But it is expected that tens of thousands of voters will leave Kuwait to spend their summer vacations either before or slightly after Eid, which means voter turnout will be too low, especially if combined with expected calls from the opposition for a boycott.
Observers say the government may decide to hold the polls just after the middle of Ramadan (toward the end of July) or may revive legal scenarios on the possibility of reviving the 2009 Assembly for the second time. If the 2009 Assembly is revived, the government can delay the election by a few months.
Members of the scrapped loyalist Assembly called yesterday on the government to hold the election as soon as possible and preferably in the month of Ramadan. The call was made by Yacoub Al-Sane after 16 members of the scrapped Assembly met at his diwaniya. Sane said the members also demanded that legal advisors who made the mistake that led to dissolving the house must be held to account. Sane said the members strongly rejected indications that the 2009 Assembly may be revived and warned the government of legal action if that Assembly was reinstated.
Meanwhile, the opposition Ummah Party yesterday strongly lashed at the constitutional court ruling, insisting it only promotes an autocratic and individualist rule in Kuwait. The party reiterated its old position of rejecting the current political and election processes in Kuwait which have failed to lead to a true democracy during the past 50 years. As a result, the party called on all political, social and popular groups and organizations to bear their historical responsibility at this highly crucial juncture in the history of Kuwait.
The party also proposed a political reform program that is based on abolishing the new constitution and forming a transitional national government. It proposed a transitional period of 18 months during which a national constituent assembly is formed of all political groups, trade unions, NGOs, tribal chiefs and judges to work out a new constitution within six months. The draft constitution should be offered for approval in a referendum.
In the second phase, a popular transitional government is formed and headed by a "national figure with a consensus agreement" for a period of one year. The transitional government will handle emergency matters, issue a law to legalize political parties, establish a national election commission that would organize the election and referandum and finally separate the public prosecution, investigation and forensic departments from the government. After one year, the transitional government will hold new elections based on a multi-party system and the new constitution if approved by the Kuwaiti people.
© Kuwait Times 2013
