By B Izzak

KUWAIT: As many as 23 new candidates filed their nomination papers yesterday, raising the number of hopefuls for the September 29 elections to 342 with just two days left for registration. The registered candidates include 23 females. Three candidates have withdrawn their candidacy as withdrawals will end on September 22, or seven days before the elections date as per the law. Forty-two members of the 50-member dissolved house have registered in bid for re-election. Of the remaining eight members, four have said they will not run while another four including speaker of the dissolved assembly Marzouk Al-Ghanem have not registered. Leader of the opposition ex-MP Mohammad Al-Mutair also has not registered.

Of the registered candidates, there are around 40 former MPs of previous assemblies. They include Islamists Mohammad Hayef, Adel Al-Damkhi, Ammar Al-Ajmi, Abdullah Fahhad, Nayef Merdas and others. They also include former MP Obaid Al-Wasmi, a well-known opposition leader who deserted the opposition camp just a few months before the assembly was dissolved. Prominent opposition figure and former MP Bader Al-Dahoum, whose membership was revoked by the constitutional court last year, has appealed to the top court for inclusion in electoral rolls to be permitted to contest the polls.

Those who announced they will not run include veteran former MPs Adnan Abdulsamad, Saud Al-Mutairi, Abdullah Al-Turaiji and Yousef Al-Fadhalah, who resigned in the previous assembly but his resignation was not accepted by the assembly. Ex-MP Turaiji said on Twitter yesterday that after consultations, he has decided not to bid for re-election. Former minister and ex-MP Mohammad Al-Rasheedi registered yesterday and called for adopting the Amiti address as the basis for government-assembly cooperation.

New candidate Jenan Al-Harbi called for launching an investigation into “education corruption” to eradicate fake university degrees. The national assembly was dissolved last month over continued disputes between opposition MPs and the government. Fresh election has been set for September 23. The outgoing assembly survived for less than 20 months. The landmark Amiri address, delivered by the crown prince on June 22, pledged the government will not interfere in the elections, nor in the election of the assembly speaker.