By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Lawmakers and politicians on Tuesday hailed the Amir’s decision to dissolve the 2020 National Assembly and call for fresh parliamentary polls as the best decision to resolve the current political crisis, resulting from the Constitutional Court’s ruling to annul the September elections. In a speech delivered by HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, HH the Amir decided late Monday to dissolve the National Assembly and called for fresh polls within the coming months. No date has been set for the new elections.

Marzouq Al-Ghanem, speaker of the National Assembly which was dissolved in August last year and then reinstated by the court ruling last month, welcomed the decision to return to the people to decide the future, saying that he had repeatedly called for such an option. Ghanem also praised the Amir’s verdicts that the judiciary must be respected and his rejection of unconstitutional calls to the contrary. MP Ahmad Al-Hamad said that the Amiri address has drawn “a roadmap for the future”, adding that the Amir in his speech reemphasized on democratic and constitutional process of the country.

Minister of Oil Bader Al-Mulla, who is a member of the 2020 and 2022 assemblies, described the address as “historical which lays foundations for the future by siding with the people’s will and the constitution”. MP Hamad Al-Harshani called on all parties to unite under the leadership of HH the Amir and the HH the Crown Prince and learn the lesson from the past by avoiding disputes.

Mubarak Al-Rasheedi, a member of the scrapped 2022 Assembly, welcomed the Amir’s decision and called on the government to take all legal actions necessary to provide the needed immunity to the next elections. He also called for speeding up the process of holding the new elections. MP Khalil Al-Saleh said HH the Amir’s decision has sided with the constitution and the will of the nation while MP Osama Al-Shaheen said the address has reemphasized the leadership’s firm commitment to the constitution and democracy.

Member of the annulled 2022 Assembly Alia Al-Khaled said the address has again emphasized HH the Amir’s respect to the popular will, while member of the same assembly Jenan Bushehri said the decision is a victory to the will of the people. Following HH the Amir’s decision, the government is now expected to approve a decree calling to dissolve the 2020 assembly and then set a date for the fresh elections. Under Kuwaiti law, the elections must be held within two months of the date of dissolving the Assembly. The forthcoming elections will be the third parliamentary polls in three years.