KUWAIT CITY, Aug 28: The Council of Ministers recently issued the Decree on calling for parliamentary elections and set Sept 29, 2022 as Election Day. The General Department for Election Affairs announced that the filing of candidacies will start on Monday and it will continue for 10 days including the weekend.

Head of the General Department for Election Affairs Colonel Salah Al-Shatti said the citizens convicted of offending God, the Prophets (Peace Be Upon Them) or the Amiri Entity; and those found guilty of committing honor crimes are not allowed to contest the elections as per the relevant laws. He added the naturalized Kuwaitis and their children are not allowed to stand for elections as well, because the law grants such right to natural-born Kuwaitis only.

Al-Shatti also clarified that former MP Marzouq Al-Khalifa can stand for elections considering he was convicted of participating in the primary elections of Shammar Tribe, which is not a criminal case and it does not affect his honor. However, Al-Khalifa will be arrested after filing his candidacy to implement the court decision issued against him. The Court of Appeals previously sentenced Al-Khalifa to two years in prison for participating in the primary elections, Al-Shatti concluded.

In a relevant development, the Ministry of Interior allotted the following police stations for filing of candidacies in every constituency: Daiya Police Station for the First Constituency, Shamiya Police Station for the Second Constituency, Kaifan Police Station for the Third Constituency, Omariya Police Station for the Fourth Constituency and Adan Police Station for the Fifth Constituency. Meanwhile, former MP Bader Al-Dahoum filed an appeal at the Court of Cassation against the decision of the First Instance Court to remove his name from the electoral rolls. The Court of Cassation will decide on the appeal later.By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff