Govt formation, Articles 106 and 87, amnesty discussed in MPs, PM meet

Political activity picks up before Assembly session

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 10: Ten MPs -- Thamer Al-Suwait, Abdulkareem Al-Kandari, Adel AlDamkhi, Khalid Al-Otaibi, Fares Al-Otaibi, Muhammad Haif, Hamad Al-Obaid, Mubarak Al-Tasha, Muhammad Al-Mutair and Ammar Al-Ajmi -- recently met His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf Al-Jaber AlSabah for consultation on the formation of the new government.

Al-Suwait confirmed that the meeting yielded positive results; indicating the MPs objected to the enforcement of Article 106 of the Constitution while ignoring the applicable Article 87, which states the first parliamentary session should be held within two weeks after the election. He added they discussed the criteria for appointing ministers and the general amnesty.

Meanwhile, His Highness the Prime Minister visited former National Assembly Speaker and newly elected MP Ahmed AlSaadoun in his house in Khaldiya. They talked about the current political issues; especially those concerning the formation of the new government and hold the inaugural session of the Assembly.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf also met MP Marzouq Al-Hebeini -- the pro tempore speaker based on age (oldest parliamentarian), who disclosed that he informed the premier about the violation in postponing the inaugural session as per Article 106 and the session should be held on Oct 13 (Thursday). He added that in case the session is not held on Thursday, the Assembly should meet on the next working day as per the Constitution.

According to sources, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf will soon meet the MPs representing the Islamic Alliance Bloc as follows: Ahmed Lari, Khalil Abul and Hani Husain; as well as the Five MPs Bloc which includes Hassan Jowhar, Muhannad Al-Sayer, Abdullah Al-Mudaf, Mehalhal Al-Mudaf and Hamad Al-Matar; and Seven MPs Bloc consisting of Shuaib Ali Shaaban, Abdullah Fehad, Osama Al-Zaid, Hamad Al-Medlej, Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, Falah Al-Hajri and Soud Al-Asfour.

In addition, the Seven MPs Bloc issued a statement expressing their dissatisfaction over the formation of the government as it did not meet the public’s demands, which were expressed in the election results and reflected the directives in the Amiri Speech. Nevertheless, the bloc praised the decision of His Highness the Prime Minister to revise the formation of the government and conduct consultations with the MPs. The bloc also called for correction of the Decree on postponing the inaugural session as per Article 106 -- a violation of Article 87.

In a relevant development, the Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal of MP Marzouq Al-Khalifa and 26 others convicted of participating in the primary elections of Bani Ghanim Tribe in 2020. The court upheld the decision of a lower court which sentenced those involved to two years in prison.

Constitutional expert Professor Muhammad Al-Fili clarified that the Central Jail directors can allow Al-Khalifa to attend the inaugural session to take the constitutional oath, stressing the latter are not obligated to issue a permit for this purpose. He went on to say that Al-Khalifa and his colleagues could be granted Amiri amnesty, through which they will be released. He went on to say that in case Al-Khalifa will serve the prison term, the issue will be in the hands of the Assembly; which can keep his parliamentary membership valid until he completes the prison term and consider him absent with excuse or resigned. He added that if Al-Khalifa is considered resigned, the Assembly will announce his seat empty and then call for supplementary election.