Court dismisses appeal regarding 2020 elections results

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 24: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim on Wednesday received in his office several economic experts who submitted a document titled, “Before Time Runs Out.” The document contains recommendations to address the economic problems of the country and a plan for achieving sustainable development.

They also discussed the chaotic and weak economic structure of the country, while stressing the importance of creating a solid economic system for the country to be competitive in the financial and economic fields. Present at the meeting were MPs Adnan Abdulsamad, Abdullah Al-Turaiji, Ahmed Al-Hamad and Ali Al-Qattan; while the economic experts included Drs Dari Al-Rasheed, Abdulrahman Al-Taweel, Nawaf Abduljader, Yaaqoub Baqer, Sulaiman Al-Badr and Ahmed Ashkanani.

In another development, the Constitutional Court - chaired by Judge Muhammad Jassem Bin Naji with Fawaz Al-Zuwaid, Adel Al-Bahwa, Saleh Khalifa Al-Meraished and Abdulrahman Al-Daremi as members - dismissed the appeal regarding the results of the 2020 parliamentary elections; affirming that the election results are legal and correct.

Appeal

Candidate Duwaim Falah Al-Muwaizri filed the appeal against MPs Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, Fayez Ghannam Al-Jomhour, Musaed Al-Mutairi, Muhammad Obaid Al-Rajhi, Soud Bu Sleeb, Thamer Al-Suwait, Marzouq Al-Khalifa, Farz Al-Daihani, Saad Al-Khanfour, Mubarak Haif Al-Hajraf and National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim.

The court ruled on the appeal based on Article 41 of National Assembly Elections Law No. 35/1962, which grants voters and candidates the right to appeal the results of the elections. However, the article states that the appeal should be on the results of elections in the concerned constituency; not the entire election.

The court pointed out the appeal does not meet the specified conditions as it targeted the legitimacy of the decree to call for elections and it violated the Constitution. In addition, former MP Abdullah Al-Kandari revealed the Constitutional Court adjourned the session on his appeal regarding the results of the Assembly speaker election. He pointed out that if only the court decided to cancel the results of this election due to suspicions of forgery, it would have doused the current tension.

Meanwhile, Rapporteur of the Budgets and Final Accounts Committee MP Badr Al-Dahoum said they met Director General of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) Abdulwahab Ahmed Al-Badr on Wednesday. Al-Dahoum expressed disappointment over the negative response of KFAED to the suggestions of the committee, such as granting loans to Kuwait Credit Bank and Kuwaiti students who want to complete their studies abroad.

He explained the committee’s suggestions are aimed at reducing pressure on the State budget through the rationalization of grants and loans that KFAED gives to other countries and to focus on its contribution to the national economy. He quoted Al-Badr as saying that KFAED has securities valued at KD500 million, while reminding everyone at the meeting about the decision to write off the housing loans of citizens shortly after the liberation. He claimed KFAED does not care about the huge amounts given to other countries in the form of loans and grants, while paying too much attention to the small amount granted to citizens.

He added the government ignored the huge amount of public money stolen during the invasion and did not take any action about major corruption cases like the Kuwait Army armament deal and Malaysian Sovereign Fund, yet it insists on touching the citizens’ pockets in order to solve the problems of the country. Chairman of the Education, Culture and Guidance Affairs Committee MP Hamad Al-Matar confirmed that the panel met representatives of the Higher Council for Private Universities on Wednesday.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff