Constitution or Parliament? Debate continues in democratic experience
“THERE are two issues that are constantly circulating about the democratic experience in Kuwait and its relationship to comprehensive development. The first is that Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem, may God rest his soul, gave his people a constitution at an early time, which posed a dilemma that we still suffer from today,” columnist Mudhaffar Abdullah wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“The second stems from some opinions at home and observers from neighboring countries that the National Assembly is obstructing development.
“They are undoubtedly debatable points of view, and it is nice that our experience is a subject for research and correction, as this is a good thing, however, there are initial responses to the two statements.
“First, it is the open and con- scious peoples who reap the fruits of the experiences of other peoples to shorten the time to reach the civil state and this is what happened in Kuwait, which originally had a history and political events prior to the year of the adoption of the constitution document.
“We add here the fact that the Kuwaiti people are open by their nature and their diversity contributed with the rule is to expedite the completion of the constitution in the desire to live under a full-fledged state, and all that is mentioned in the constitution is the minimum that people live by in their social and political relations.
“As for the response to the second issue, we say the National Assembly is an institution that legislates and exercises oversight over state agencies, and it has nothing to do with the faltering development that the governments of previous eras are questioned about, and how they dealt with the Parliament by sabotaging the electoral scene with precedents and forcibly disrupting the constitution, and that the country’s wealth and budgets and the powers granted to development are mostly under the command of the Council of Ministers by virtue of the constitution, so how can Parliament be the stumbling block?
“In short, the presence of a parliament in any country is a fundamental pillar of the states – without it the whole system cannot survive. As for the saying that the constitution is superior to the socio-political status of Kuwaitis, this is unscientific and is refuted by evidence that can be monitored in dated events.
“We say, search for the pattern of public administration that prevailed after the first dissolution of the National Assembly and the real desire to activate the constitution.”
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“The government of Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad, that was formed immediately after the 2022 parliamentary elections, came to the political scene dead after less than 24 hours of a very rapid and historically unprecedented birth, causing popular and parliamentary reactions characterized by intense resentment and anger,” columnist Khaled Ahmad Al-Tarrah wrote for AlQabas daily.
“Kuwaitis responded to the lofty call for the good selection of representatives, which brought about a major change in the composition of the new National Assembly, while the 2022 government headed by Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Ahmad came against the popular and parliamentary expectations and in a politically frustrating manner.
“Perhaps the failure of Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad to form a new government in line with popular aspirations and in line with the electoral will reinforced the idea of the necessity of a popular prime minister, to distance the ruling family from political conflicts.
“The government’s birth was abnormal par excellence, and its political funeral took place hours later and on the same night as the abnormal birth, and Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad bore without any doubt the responsibility for the stillbirth of the government.
“Undoubtedly, the doses of optimism popularized by Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad before his formation of the new government, which was born dead at a lightning speed, were not picked up by the Prime Minister, and the evidence is his participation in the funeral of the body hours after the appointment decrees of ministers was issued.
“It is unreasonable for the Prime Minister to quickly turn the page on the positions of some ministers who remained silent about violating the constitution by supporting the postponement of constitutional interpellations intended for former Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, except in the case of the adventurous decision of a parliamentary majority.
“We are happy with the funeral of a government a few hours after its birth, and it is perhaps the first political lesson for Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Ahmad, in terms of popular support for his reform steps.
It seems that the Council of Ministers has not changed its approach or its work. There is no advisory support, no effective agencies, and it does not really touch the political reality and the needs of the citizen, which His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Ahmad, may God protect him, stressed recently.
“The field of ministerial work is neither an arena of experiments nor an opportunity for compromises, nor is it a window for politically and constitutionally illegitimate requests by forces with a special interest to former or new ministers.”
“Perhaps, talks about education and its concerns will surface at the beginning of each academic year,” columnist Dr Essa Al-Omairi wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“Our conversation today has the same context and content, but this time it is about our students on scholarship abroad, specifically Britain that has undergone many changes in economic and financial aspects including the cost of living.
“Our students on scholarship are an essential component of Britain as they spend their daily lives in such an economic situation and its impact on their future and educational attainment. Those who have migrated and moved away from their mother country to benefit from Science in distant countries return to Kuwait armed with higher academic certificates. They contribute to building their homeland using the knowledge they obtained during the immigration years.
“Therefore, it is natural for them to pay more attention to a very important aspect – increasing the financial allocations to face the changing conditions. We say that the financial allocations for our students in the United Kingdom are still the same as before the material or financial changes, which must be taken into consideration.
“How can a student live with the current financial conditions using the old allocations? Hence, State officials, headed by the Minister of Education and Higher Education, must take the issue seriously. They should reconsider the financial allocations and take into account the current circumstances, particularly the high cost of living abroad.” “His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlNawaf’s re-formation of the government has huge connotations and meanings. It is a message to everyone that cooperation is the ideal formula for the development and advancement of the country, while avoiding the policy of revenge, which is currently practiced by those who left the political scene with hidden nostalgia,” columnist Owaid al-Salili wrote for Al-Shahid
daily.
“Kuwait is greater than all the conflicting politicians who prioritize their personal and partisan interests and benefits at the expense of the nation’s supreme interest.
“Focusing on minorities and controversies around them are among the characteristics of the young and the corrupt who take the aforementioned as pretexts and methods for revenge and settling accounts. This is practiced by politicians and influential people from time to time, without any benefit for the citizens.
“Everyone is optimistic about the future in the presence of a prime minister who enjoys unprecedented public support and the existence of a new legislature that includes the best of the country’s people. Therefore, there is no justification for wasting time on minor conflicts.” “No one knows how long the loan crisis will remain despite a number of signs that it could have been resolved through consensus between the two authorities,” columnist Abdulrahman Al-Awad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“Today, after the existence of the ‘Assembly for Correction of the Course’, it is necessary to agree on a common formula in this context which, on the one hand, ends the suffering of borrowers, and on the other hand, protects public money and ensures justice for all citizens.
“This crisis is a ‘model’ for many of our crises that usually start small and grow gradually until they become an intractable ghost. This is the result of procrastination in addressing them, as well as the lack of decisiveness and clarity on the part of the two authorities in taking measures to end the crises.
“We have long suffered as a result of this method of dealing with important and delicate issues, which require a comprehensive vision based on study and research, and looking into all aspects of any problem.
“The loan issue has taken longer than it should, although its solution is not that complicated, and the two authorities can reach this solution smoothly and easily.
“We hope this will be solved through a classy, respectable and effective parliamentary practice, in addition to an orientation towards what is most important and beneficial. We mean the ratification of long-standing laws, considering their projects or proposals are kept in the drawers of the committees of previous assemblies, which were very busy escalating tension with the government, such that its priorities were chaotic and left the whole country in confusion for many years.” “One of the most important medical rules is that you should not try to do a job. Studies and research have proven that those who preceded you tried to do this work and proved to everyone that it is useless to do so. This is in addition to the obvious harm it brings and lack of benefit, hence, it is a waste of time and effort...,” columnist Dr Waleed Al-Taneeb wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“Days have proven that if the parliamentary elections in the country are repeated more than once, the thought of who will reach the Parliament will not change, as the change is only in the names... Yes, there might be minor breakthroughs in the prevailing thought, but we will quickly discover the inability of these breakthroughs to make any difference.
“One of the methods that were followed in the past, before forming any government, is a direct meeting with lawmakers to take their opinions. Let us be more frank about their conditions and demands before forming the government. Then, after the meeting each group comes out with a statement or a press statement.
“The result of these meetings was success from the short perspective, failure at the beginning of the medium perspective, and collision and lack of cooperation before the end of the medium perspective.
“Previous experience proved the failure of the prime minister’s direct meetings with lawmakers before the formation of the government.”