ShareBy B Izzak
KUWAIT: The National Assembly holds special sessions on Thursday and Wednesday to debate the second reading to the draft law for the establishment of a high election commission. It is also scheduled to debate the financial state of the country in a closed session, when the finance minister will present the state of the country’s finances, including the performance of the sovereign wealth fund, which has assets worth over $800 billion. The Assembly is also due to close its first shortened term on Wednesday as the Cabinet on Monday approved an Amiri decree declaring the end of the first term of the Assembly elected on June 6.
Last week, the Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first reading of amendments to the election law, which call for the establishment of the high election commission for the first time in the country. Only one lawmaker out of 57 present objected to the law. MPs have also submitted a series of proposals to amend the draft law before it is debated and approved by the Assembly for the second and final reading. Other clauses in the proposed law call for pardoning political prisoners who were jailed or convicted for offending HH the Amir.
This will allow them to run for public office. A large number of former opposition MPs are expected to benefit from the amendment and be allowed to contest future parliamentary elections. MPs have proposed to lower the voting age to 18 from the current 21 and lift a ban on the voting by servicemen in the armed forces and the police force. Members of the national guard are allowed to vote. MP Marzouq Al-Ghanem has proposed to amend a clause requiring women voters and candidates to abide by sharia rules by also adding men.
The committee discussing the amendments has accepted the proposal. MP Majed Al-Mutairi proposed to amend the law to stop criminalizing tribal primary elections, which are banned by the law and punishable by imprisonment of up to two years. Courts have recently issued jail terms against dozens of tribesmen of two major tribes, including former MPs, for taking part in tribal primaries. HH the Amir has pardoned members of one tribe while the second tribe is pushing to get a similar amnesty.
