KUWAIT: The Cabinet has authorized the Kuwait Transparency Society to oversee the upcoming December 5 parliamentary elections as part of an amendment of the National Assembly elections' law. The move comes "in line with the new circumstances in the Kuwaiti society … (and) aspirations for more democracy, transparency and equal opportunities amongst candidates, and to provide further transparency and integrity that should be available in the electoral process procedures," Deputy Prime Minister, Interior Minister and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh said after the Cabinet's weekly meeting, held at Seif Palace yesterday and chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. This comes after the routine formation of the supreme national elections commission, tasked with supervising and overseeing the voting process.

COVID-19 situation
Amid a briefing on the country's COVID-19 pandemic situation, Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Al-Sabah reiterated the need to maintain the "utmost caution" and to curb the spread of the disease, Saleh said after the talks. Ministers went on to urge the importance for the public alike to continue adhering to public health guidelines.

In regards to regional and international diplomacy, ministers expressed their "strong condemnation and denunciation" of the Houthi militia's continued targeting of civilian areas in Saudi Arabia by drone attacks. The Cabinet explained that the increasing occurrence of these attacks is a "blatant violation of international charters and laws and a flagrant threat to the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its brotherly people" as well as being a "direct threat to international peace and security."

These acts "undermine the stability of the region, requiring the international community, especially the Security Council, to assume its responsibilities in curbing these criminal acts and putting an end to them." The Cabinet underlined full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and support of Riyadh in all the measures it takes to preserve its security and stability.

'Heinous crime'
Furthermore, the Cabinet expressed Kuwait's strong condemnation of the "heinous terrorist crime" that took place last Thursday in Nice, France, which resulted in the killing and wounding of a number of innocent people, expressing sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and wishes for a speedy recovery for the injured.

Kuwait underlines its "principled and firm stance" against all forms of terrorism, extremism and violence, which are rejected by all divine religions and human values and criminalized by international laws and norms, the ministers reiterated. They went on to call for the need to double international efforts to reject practices that generate hatred among peoples and feed extremism and terrorism.

The Cabinet also expressed "sadness and deep regret" over the news of the earthquake that struck the Turkish city of Izmir recently, which left dozens killed and injured as well as causing severe damage to property and infrastructure.

The ministers expressed their sincere condolences and sympathy to the Turkish government, the president and people, particularly the families of the victims. The Cabinet also expressed its condemnation of yesterday's bombing at the headquarters of Afghanistan's Kunduz province governor, praying for mercy on the souls of the victims and a speedy recovery for those injured. - KUNA