KUWAIT CITY, June 18: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah issued a decree Monday suspending Parliament sessions for one month beginning from June 18, 2012.

For the first time in Kuwait’s political history, Article 106 of the Constitution has been activated. The article states: ‘The Amir may, by a decree, adjourn the meeting of the National Assembly for a period not exceeding one month. Adjournment may be repeated during the same session with the consent of the Assembly and then only once. A period of adjournment is not counted in computing the duration of the session.’

The Cabinet approved the decree during its weekly meeting and stated HH the Amir wished to ease the political tension and to create a political climate that can achieve desired cooperation.

“(The postponement) allows for all to evaluate the previous phase and seek the best way to make good parliamentary practice and prevent what has led to the loss of trust between both authorities,” it added in an official statement. The Cabinet has assured that it still extends a hand of cooperation to the Parliament.

Since the Cabinet formation in February, eight interpellations have been filed against eight ministers, one was withdrawn and two others were ‘shelved’ due to the resignation of the concerned ministers.
Former minister of finance Mustafa Al-Shamali resigned on May 23, 2012 following his interpellation and former Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Lt General Ahmed Abdullatif Al-Rujeib also followed suit on June 12, 2012, ahead of his grilling. Therefore, it is presumed the Cabinet will work to finalize its formation during the month.

Moreover, MP Mohammed Al-Juwaihel was scheduled to grill First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah this week on the issue of dual-nationality.

Although the Parliament sessions have been suspended for one month, the grilling remains on the Assembly’s agenda in addition to other proponents which will be discussed when sessions resume in mid-July — most likely July 18.

The Assembly’s agenda contains a host of draft bills proposed by lawmakers, primarily those by the majority bloc. The bills pertain to anti-corruption, the formation of political parties and the amendment to Ministers Court Law and the Assembly’s standing orders.

Furthermore, the bloc has expressed its wish that between six and nine ministerial portfolios be awarded to the lawmakers from the majority bloc or at least to their associates.

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s annual budget has yet to be approved by the Assembly. According to Article 85 of the Constitution, ‘the National Assembly has an annual session of not less than eight months. The said session may not be prorogued before the budget is approved’.

State Minister of Housing Affairs Shuaib Al-Muweizri said the decree only postponed the sessions but all other Parliament activities remain intact.

Meanwhile the decision by HH the Amir to suspend the Parliament sessions for one month has been welcomed by both wings of the Parliament – the so-called majority and the minority lawmakers because the Constitution gives the Amir the right if need arises. However, the majority and minority MPs differ when it comes to shifting blame for the decision.

The minority points a finger at the majority who these MPs say have been abusing their powers and interfering into the affairs of the judiciary and the executive powers. The majority on the other hand blames the formation of the current government saying it includes some unqualified ministers.
The lawmakers also stated the legislative term will automatically be extended to September instead of ending on Aug 2, 2012. However they differed on the parliament immunity and whether the postponement of sessions also applies to temporary committees, such as the panels that are probing the alleged foreign transfers abroad by the former Prime Minister and the multi-million dinar deposits into the accounts of some former lawmakers.

MP Jamaan Al-Harbash commented saying the “Assembly was supposed to approve a number of bills long awaited by the Kuwaiti people. However the decree will only postpone the voting on these bills for an extra month.”

He assured that the majority will finalize all pending bills during the month to be included on the agenda and that the suspension will not halt committee work. He noted there will be extensive sessions once the Parliament resumes.

Nevertheless, Al-Harbash added “there are entities that are pushing for Parliament dissolution and I say to them that your problem is with the Kuwaiti people who voted for the majority lawmakers not the lawmakers themselves.” He noted the problem is in the Cabinet formation not the legislative authority.
Al-Harbash said the majority bloc will soon meet at the office of MP Khaled Al-Sultan to chalk out the scenario of the upcoming phase.

For his part, MP Mohammed Al-Dalal said Article 106 indicates ‘The suspension affects only the Parliament sessions and does not include committee meetings or any other Assembly duties.”
“We are facing an unstable political situation that is related to the Cabinet formation. We hope this period is enough for the Cabinet to finalize its structure so that we may have a government that is workable,” he stated.

Al-Dalal added HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah was supposed to meet the Speaker of Parliament Ahmad Al-Saadoun Tuesday to coordinate priorities. He said he is optimistic this meeting will materialize during the month.

MP Adnan Abdul-Samad said according to the correct legal opinion the suspension does not affect permanent committees, but as for the temporary committees which have completed their work, they will have no work to do during this period.

He added, “This legislative term is exceptional and it is not necessary to complete the eight months because the Parliament can approve the budget after the suspension period and before the end of the current legislative round.

He explained some strong legal experts say MPs have no parliamentary immunity during the suspension period.

MP Obaid Al-Wasmi is of the view that the suspension will not affect the work of the parliamentary committees and will not prevent them from submitting their reports to the Parliament to look into them after holding sessions.

He admitted the suspension will only affect the power of the Parliament to pass laws. Al-Wasmi however argued the immunity of MPs cannot be lifted during this period because suspension does not mean lifting the immunity.

“We all have to wait until after the Parliament resumes its work to consider lifting immunity of MPs.
MP Musallam Al-Barrak said though he agrees that HH the Amir has the right to suspend the sessions according to Article 106 of the Constitution, he blames the government for this decision.

Several MPs have spoken on the constitutional right of the Amir to suspend Parliamentary sessions for one month as per Article 106 of the Constitution. They have also praised this decision as wise and timely to allow the executive and the legislative authorities to calm down.

MP Adnan Al-Mutawa believes this decision was taken “to stop the majority bloc in the parliament from infringing on the authorities of HH the Amir, the executive and the judiciary, while MP Abdul-Hamid Dashti said the Amir’s decision was a step in the right direction.

He feels the suspension will be followed by the dissolution of the Parliament because of the problems caused by the majority.

Speaking on the grilling that was supposed to be discussed during this week’s session, Dashti explained Minister of Interior who was to stand on the grilling podium is outside the country and therefore it would have been difficult to deal with the grilling in question.

MP Nabil Al-Fadhel said the decree to suspend parliamentary session is a sole right of HH the Amir. He said this came about because of the increase in provocative methods that have been adopted by the majority MPs against the government on issues such as money transfers and multimillion deposits and insisting to have nine MPs in the government.

Earlier, the Legal and Legislative Committee had approved a draft bill concerning the establishment and organization of political parties aimed at restructuring political work in the country.

Rapporteur of the committee MP Mohammed Al-Dalal said political parties will abide by anti-corruption laws that include financial disclosure.

The committee also approved laws to transfer the General Department of Investigations from the Ministry of Interior to the Public Prosecution in addition to amendments to the Assembly’s internal charter, added Al-Dalal.

On another issue, MP Ahmed Lari has proposed setting up a weekly program on KTV for ministers and other governmental authorities related to services such as ministries of Health, Interior, Electricity and Water, Public Works, Public Authority for Housing Welfare, and the Kuwait Municipality so that a minister can tell the public what has been achieved by his program or what programs the ministry has implemented to alleviate the sufferings of the citizens.

He also suggested that a television program be allocated every three months at the KTV for the Prime Minister to explain to the public the achievements made by his government as well as the government policies and strategies on various issues.

Lari explained he made these proposals to ensure the principle of transparency with the citizens, oversight and probe government work and policies to increase the trust between citizens and the government.

Kuwait’s ruler suspended parliament for one month on Monday as a row escalated between the cabinet and lawmakers, threatening to draw in senior ministers and stalling economic planning in the major oil producer.

The Amir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, can take the emergency step under the Gulf state’s constitution to allow time for talks and avert a deeper crisis that could lead to the dissolution of the elected assembly.

His suspension decree, published on state news agency KUNA, comes ahead of a planned questioning session in parliament of Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah, a royal family member, by hostile lawmakers over Kuwait’s citizenship law.

The wealthy OPEC member state, a regional US ally, has escaped the kind of violent anti-government protests seen elsewhere in the Middle East, but tensions have escalated between the cabinet and opposition lawmakers who push for a say in government.

Kuwait’s cabinet is hand-picked by the prime minister who is appointed by the Amir.

Agencies add:

Political parties are banned in Kuwait so lawmakers rely on forming blocs and use such grilling sessions to pile pressure on the cabinet. They may end in confidence votes that could force ministers out of office.

Sheikh Ahmad is a member of the ruling family and one of the most powerful people in the cabinet after the prime minister.

The lawmakers had planned to question him on Tuesday about Kuwait’s citizenship law and stateless residents, a sensitive topic in the Gulf state which has strict citizenship criteria.

But the cabinet agreed to a draft law “to suspend parliamentary sessions for a month starting today (Monday)”, KUNA said.

Opposition lawmakers, who are mainly Islamists, are considering also calling the oil minister and defence minister, another royal family member, for questioning over different issues.

Analysts say opposition lawmakers are using the questioning sessions as part of their push for a place in government and a way to air long-standing grievances on issues such as immigration and graft allegations.

“We would usually expect the stock market to go up tomorrow in reaction to this but only for a short period because there is no serious intention of the government to reform and restructure the economic and political situation,” said Naser al-Nafisi from the Al-Joman Centre, an independent economic consultancy.