KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: The ‘days of silence’ will be on Wednesday and Thursday; during which the publication, uploading, sharing and retweeting of statements and interviews of candidates or election surveys are banned, says acting Assistant Undersecretary for Publishing and Printing at the Ministry of Information LafiAl-Subaie. Meanwhile, based on the Constitutional Court’s verdict affirming the constitutionality of Clause Two, Article Two of National Assembly Election Law No. 27/2016 that prohibits citizens convicted of offending God, Prophets (Peace Be Upon Them) and the Amiri entity from contesting the parliamentary elections; the Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of the First Instance Court on the disqualification of candidates Ayedh Abu Khousa, Anwar Al-Fikr, Naif Al-Merdas and Abdullah Al- Barhgash from the parliamentary elections scheduled for Thursday as they were convicted of offending the Amiri entity.

Also, the Constitutional Court set Tuesday for the announcement of its ruling on the petition of Second Constituency candidate Attorney Adel Al-Yahya regarding the constitutionality of Amiri Decree numbers Five and Six for 2022 on voting as per the address in the civil identification cards of citizens. The Ministry of Health announced on Monday that it was ready to provide assistance during the 2022 Kuwait parliamentary elections scheduled on September 29, Thursday. Assistant Undersecretary for Technical Affairs Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi told KUNA that the ministry had established 123 clinics at polling stations throughout the five constituencies to provide any needed medical assistance during voting day. Hospitals nationwide are also ready to provide medical care come Thursday, he stressed.

On his part, head of the emergency care department at the ministry Ahmad Suleiman said that each elections headquarters for each parliamentary hopeful in Kuwait were allocated necessary medial provisions and staff to deal with emergencies. Emergency staff would be available during election day, he noted, adding that staff from the Interior Ministry and Civil Defense would be present to handle any sort of crises.

On the other hand, former MP and Second Constituency candidate Hamad Al-Matar is a Sunni born in July 1970. He holds a Doctorate Degree in Industrial Chemistry. He is a professor at Kuwait University, Director of the Consulting and Training Office at the College of Sciences in the university, member of Arab Chemists Association in 2005, regional director of Arab Association for Chemical and Petrochemical Industries, Chief Executive Officer of the National Project for Raising Environmental Awareness, and member of the American Chemical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry.

He boycotted the elections in 2012, supporting the position of Popular Action Bloc on rejecting the one-man-one-vote system. He was a member of the Islamist majority in the 2012 National Assembly. He contested the 2009 elections, ranking 11th in the Second Constituency with 4,583 votes and sixth in February 2012 with 5,624 votes. He lost in 2016 when he ranked 11th with 1,710 votes. He emerged victorious in the 2020 elections with 2,903 votes that put him in fourth spot in his constituency.

Voting record
■ Bill on the death penalty for those convicted of offending God and Prophets (Peace Be Upon Them) in 2012: approved
■ Grilling motion against Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali in 2020: rejected
■ Grilling motion against Minister of Foreign Affairs and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Muhammad in February 2022: approved
■ Grilling motion against Minister of Public Works Ali Al-Mousa in March 2022: rejected

Statement
Al-Matar has stressed the need to develop the political system. “We have been in the empty circle for more than 50 years. We should not expect better results if we keep on using the same tools. Everything can be amended, except the Holy Quran. The Constitution must be amended, since it is the basis for implementing reforms,” he added. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff and Agencies