KUWAIT CITY, Oct 5: The recently-concluded National Assembly election was fair; considering the judicial authority supervised the electoral procedures, while the non-government organizations (NGOs) served as observers, says Kuwait Society for National Integrity. In a recent press conference, the society praised the efforts exerted by the Interior Ministry and other concerned institutions; affirming that its teams closely monitored the whole electoral process, including voting, unsealing of ballots, counting of votes and announcement of results.

On the other hand, the Constitutional Court has not received petitions against the election results over the last four days. The Election Law stipulates 10 days for the court to receive petitions starting the day after the official announcement of results; hence, there are six days left for the candidates and MPs to submit their appeals, if any. Meanwhile, the Secretariat General of the National Assembly organized the orientation for 17 first-time MPs to familiarize them on the technical and administrative services that the Secretariat provides.

Secretary General of the Assembly Adel Al-Lugani accompanied the first-time MPs during their tour of the Assembly Hall where they were briefed on the mechanism of electronic voting. These MPs are as follows: Osama Al-Zaid, Hamad Al-Medlej and Khalid Al-Omaira in the First Constituency; Shuaib Shaaban, Hamed Al-Bazzali, Falah Al-Hajri, Alia Al-Khalid, Abdulwahab Al-Essa and Abdullah Al-Anbaie in the Second Constituency; Jenan Bu Shehri, Ammar Al-Ajmi and Hamad Al- Obaid in the Third Constituency; Mubarak Al-Tasha and Yousef Al-Bazzali in the Fourth Constituency; and Hani Shams, Soud Al-Asfour and Muhammad Al- Mahan in the Fifth Constituency.

In addition, former MP and 2022 election candidate Mubarak Al-Arow also announced his plan to file a petition against the results of the elections; besides Saadoun Hammad, Ahmed Mutei Al-Azmi and Ahmed Al-Hamad who made the same announcement earler. However, none of these candidates has filed a petition so far.

On the election of the speaker and his deputy during the inaugural session scheduled for Oct 11, it seems most MPs have agreed on electing former Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun; while the deputy speaker post could be a tight race between MPs Muhammad Al-Mutair and MP Hassan Jowhar. The fact that Jowhar is a Shiite could be a complicating factor even if he obtained the support of many MPs since he is among the opposition in the 2016 Assembly. Many public figures, including former Minister of Public Works and MP-elect Jenan Bu Shehri called for foiling attempts to divide the nation. She urged the MPs vying for the deputy speaker post to ask their supporters to calm down and avoid sectarian disputes. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff