Kuwaitis set to vote in third election within 30 months after parliament is again dissolved

Kuwaitis are set to head to the polls before July 1 for the third time in two and a half years after parliament was dissolved by royal decree on Monday.

The parliament was reinstated in March, based on a Constitutional Court ruling, after a previous dissolution.

Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Sabah said last month the legislature would be dissolved and that parliamentary elections would be held in the coming months.

A prolonged struggle between the government and the elected parliament has hampered fiscal reforms. The parliament, first elected in 2020, was dissolved last year in a bid to end the feuding. A vote was held in September in which the opposition made gains.

But the Constitutional Court in March annulled those results and restored the previous assembly. Kuwait’s constitution states elections for a new parliament must be held within two months from the date of dissolution.

If elections are not held within the two-month period, the dissolved parliament is restored to full constitutional authority and meets as if the dissolution had not taken place.

Following the official dissolution by decree on Monday, several high-profile political figures indicated they would begin campaigning for the coming elections, including National Assembly speaker Marzouq Al Ghanim.

“I announce my candidacy for the elections for the second constituency,” Mr Al Ghanim said on Twitter.

Mr Al Ghanim did not run in last year’s elections.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that the coming elections are very important because they are a dividing line between the consecration of the state of institutions or the continuation of chaos,” said Jassim Boodai, chairman of Al Rai Media Group.