By B Izzak

KUWAIT: MP Safa Al-Hashem yesterday said she will reject to be vaccinated by the new coronavirus vaccine, insisting it should be voluntary and not compulsory. "I do not agree to the coronavirus vaccine … I reject what is being imposed by the World Cough (Health) Organization" she wrote on Twitter, insisting that the vaccine should not be obligatory.

She said that she learned that those who refuse to take the vaccine will be banned from leaving the country. Hashem, who was infected and recovered from the coronavirus, said she believes the vaccine is not absolutely safe. Hashem called on the prime minister to make sure that government subsidies only benefit low-income Kuwaitis, adding that currently, rich Kuwaitis and many expats also benefit from the subsidies. She said that the number of expats has grown in an abnormal way and this is impacting public services.

Candidates running for seats in the National Assembly elections next month have criticized what they call a weak government and previous Assembly performance and have cast doubt on the country's economic programs. MP Thamer Al-Suwait, bidding for re-election from the fourth constituency, said the government spent around KD 6 billion on roads over the past five years but the state of infrastructure remains appalling.

MP Riyadh Al-Adasani, who is running for a seat in the second constituency, called for stopping the squandering of public funds, boosting state reserves and fighting corruption. New candidate Abrar Al-Saleh, contesting from the third constituency, said both the Assembly and the government have let down the people by refusing to change the election system. She called for political reforms that serve national interests.

Meanwhile, the lower court yesterday said it will rule on the cases of a number of disqualified candidates on Nov 19, after at least nine candidates challenged the interior ministry decision to bar them from contesting the elections. Eight candidates, including Talal Dashti and Ayedh Bukhousa, yesterday presented their arguments against the decision to disqualify them, while the government's legal department represented the interior ministry.

Dashti, the son of self-exiled former MP Abdulhamid Dashti, said on Twitter that the interior ministry barred him for old minor cases related to trade and customs, over which he has already been rehabilitated. Bukhousa expressed confidence that the court will scrap the interior ministry's decision. The court's verdicts can be challenged before the court of appeals and all the cases must be settled before the elections on Dec 5. Former Islamist opposition MP Bader Al-Dahoum filed his arguments on Sunday and the court also decided to rule on his case on Thursday.