KUWAIT: A number of MPs said they will go to the National Assembly on Sunday in a bid to hold the new parliament's opening session, which they claim the government had delayed for a week in violation of the constitution. Around 14 MPs said publicly they will go to the Assembly, adding they are trying to resolve a constitutional crisis that may lead to dissolving the Assembly by the court.
Many MPs and constitutional experts insist that the government has no powers to delay the opening of the Assembly because the constitution requires that the first session must be held within two weeks after announcing the election results. The results were officially announced on Sept 30, a day after the election, and accordingly, the opening session must be held by Oct 14. Since Oct 14 and 15 were public holidays, the opening automatically moves to October 16, according to MPs.
But the government refused to change its mind and the Assembly secretariat already sent out invitations for the session on Oct 18. However, a number of MPs urged the oldest member, who will chair the opening session, to invite MPs for the session to be held on Sunday. MP Marzouq Al-Hubaini, who is the oldest member since Ahmad Al-Saadoun will contest the speaker's post, issued a statement late Saturday saying that all MPs are invited for the opening session on Sunday.
Several MPs immediately said on Twitter they will attend the session. They include Jenan Bushehri, Khalil Al-Saleh, Faisal Al-Kandari, Hamad Al-Matar and others. The government is certain to boycott the session, and accordingly it will not be convened because the presence of at least one minister is essential for the session to be legal.