• The KCC has ruled that the parliamentary election from last September was invalid.
• Restoring the constitutional authority of the dissolved parliament.
• Cooperation between the administration and parliament is essential for maintaining political stability.

The previous assembly must be restored according to the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court‘s ruling that the parliamentary election from last September, in which the opposition won gains, was invalid.

The move on Sunday followed the re-appointment of the nation’s prime minister, whose cabinet had resigned in January as a result of the impasse with parliament, and it comes at a time of heightened tension between the elected parliament and government.

In an effort to put an end to protracted domestic political rivalries that had impeded economic reform, Kuwait’s crown prince called early elections and disbanded the legislature last year.

In the most inclusive election in a decade, held in September, opposition candidates won 28 out of 50 seats, giving them a legislative majority.

The outcome of the vote represented a victory for opposition politicians, many of whom had abstained from elections during the previous ten years due to what they perceived as interference by the executive branch with parliament.

Nevertheless, Justice Mohammed bin Naji stated on Sunday that the court had invalidated the early elections held in September and had ruled that the dissolution of the legislature was invalid.

“The constitutional authority of the dissolved parliament shall be restored as of the date of this ruling,” he told the court session attended by reporters.

The “Electoral Process Is Void”

The decision, according to attorney Nawaf Al-Yassin, came after multiple electoral appeals.

“The appeals relate to the invalidity of the electoral process, the decrees calling for elections, and the decree dissolving the previous National Assembly,” he told AFP news agency.

The legislature of Kuwait, an OPEC oil producer, has more power than comparable organizations in other Gulf monarchies despite the country’s ban on political parties.

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خطاب سمو ولي العهد في ٢٢-٦-٢٠٢٢ والنطق السامي لسموه في ١٨-١٠-٢٠٢٢ أكد وبوضوح بأن اجراءات الحل والانتخابات تمت وفق القوانين والاجراءات الدستورية وحكم المحكمة اليوم يثبت بأن جميعها كانت خاطئة لذلك يجب محاسبة من قام بإبداء الرأي القانوني .. الكويت لا تستحق هذه المهازل

— صالح أحمد عاشور (@SalehAshoor) March 19, 2023

[Translation:The speech of His Highness the Crown Prince on 6-22-2022 and the supreme speech of His Highness on 10-18-2022 clearly confirmed that the dissolution and elections procedures were carried out in accordance with constitutional laws and procedures, and the court ruling today proves that all of them were wrong. Therefore, those who expressed the legal opinion must be held accountable .. Kuwait does not These travesties are worth it]

Regular political disputes have frequently resulted in government reshuffles and parliamentary dissolutions, impeding investment and reforms intended to lessen the nation’s disproportionate reliance on oil revenue.

Abdullah Al-Turaiji, a politician from the disbanded assembly, applauded the action for “correcting the government’s mistake in dealing with parliament”.

Cooperation between the administration and parliament has traditionally been essential to maintaining political stability in Kuwait.

The pardoning of political dissidents is one of the demands that Kuwait’s government has complied with, while other opposition demands, such as a public debt law, are still being blocked by the legislature.

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