Poll on June 6; Cabinet clears election decree

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KUWAIT CITY, May 3: The Council of Ministers has approved the draft decree on holding the National Assembly election on June 6, 2023. The council took the decision during its extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, affirming the draft decree has been forwarded to HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

According to official sources, the filing of candidacies will start on Friday; adding that the council also decided to suspend work in ministries and other public institutions on the day of election. Earlier, the Kuwaiti Cabinet held on Wednesday an extraordinary meeting at Bayan Palace chaired by Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Following the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Dr. Khaled Al-Fadhel revealed that the Cabinet had approved a draft decree calling for electing members of the 17th legislative term of the National Assembly on June 6, 2023, forwarding the document to His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Cabinet took a decision to suspend work at government entities and public institutions during the Election Day with certain bodies working on that day according to the nature of their work, said the minister. He added that the Cabinet also allocated roles and responsibilities to run the elections via forming a committee led by the Interior Ministry and including the memberships of the Ministries of Justice, Information, Education, Social Affairs, and Health in addition to the Municipality of Kuwait. In a related development, senior officials in the ministries of Interior, Justice, Information, Education and Health; as well as the Kuwait Municipality, had a meeting Wednesday to coordinate their efforts in ensuring the smooth flow of procedures during the registration of candidates. They also discussed the allocation of schools that will be used as polling centers on Election Day.

Meanwhile, former MP Khalil Abul announced that he will not run for the upcoming election; while a number of former MPs intend to contest the election including Muhammad Hayef, Obaid Al-Wasmi, Salman Al- Azmi, Muhammad Al-Mutair, Adel Al- Damkhi, Ahmed Lari, Khalid Al-Omaira, Jenan Bu Shehri, Muhammad Al-Mahan, Soud Al-Asfour, Abdullah Al-Tamimi, Nasser Al-Dousari, Mubarak Al-Tasha and Ali Al-Qattan. It is expected that candidates will reduce their campaign expenses in this election, considering campaigns have become a heavy burden because of the frequent elections – thrice within two and a half years. As observed during the 2022 election, the campaign cost was 30 to 50 percent lower than the previous elections.

This seems to be the trend now, especially since former MPs, Abdulkareem Al- Kandari, Abdullah Al- Mudhaf, Mehalhal Al-Mudhaf and Muhannad Al-Sayer announced that their campaigns will be limited to visiting diwaniyas and using social media platforms. Former MP Jenan Bu Shehri supports the idea, pointing out the candidates must hold social meetings in their diwaniyas to touch base with the voters. Moreover, constitutional expert Professor Muhammad Al-Muqatei called on the Ministry of Interior to intensify its efforts in combating election-related anomalies like vote-buying, tribal primary elections, fake candidacies and withdrawal of candidacies. He also stressed the need to close land borders three days before the election. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff and Agencies

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