KUWAIT CITY, Nov 23: Former National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim attended the 14th regular meeting of the speakers of consultative councils and parliaments in Gulf countries through video conference, along with Inter-Parliamentary Union Secretary Ouda Al-Ruwai’e and former Secretary- General of the Assembly Allam Al-Kandari. During the meeting, Al-Ghanim stressed that Kuwait always believes in the Gulf unity and it depends on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is the strategic option for all Gulf countries. He affirmed that the GCC will last forever in spite of the unexpected clouds that sometimes hide its sun.

He pointed out that HH the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah would have been happy over this meeting if he was alive, adding that this meeting is also a source of happiness for HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. He implored Allah to protect the sisterly relations between Gulf countries; including their political leaders, governments, parliaments and citizens.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Staff Members Association and Head of the General Law Department at the College of Law in Kuwait University Dr Ibrahem Al-Homoud warned that preventing citizens infected with coronavirus from voting in the 2020 parliamentary elections will open the door for complaints about constitutional violations.

He explained this is a constitutional dilemma because the Constitution guarantees both the citizens’ right to vote and protection of public health. He went on to say that a citizen infected with coronavirus is supposed to be in quarantine as per the relevant laws, while isolating anyone suffering from infectious disease is mandatory as per the Constitution. However, Al-Homoud stressed the need for finding a plausible solution to prevent constitutional violations.

He suggested allocating special polling centers for voters infected with coronavirus and to implement the necessary measures to ensure that employees assigned in these polling centers will not be infected. He said the ministries of Interior and Health should coordinate their efforts in organizing the voting process without violating the Constitution. Moreover, former MP and First Constituency candidate Dr Muhammad Hassan Al-Kandari asserted in a press release that Kuwait is experiencing a crisis in education.

He said tens of thousands of Kuwaitis are studying abroad and the country has only one public university established in 1966, while other countries have more than 10 public universities even if their revenues are much lesser than that of Kuwait. He wondered about the press statements of successive education and higher education ministers about the obstacles to the construction of new universities.

He pointed out these ministers, as members of the Council of Ministers, can coordinate with their colleagues in the council to address these obstacles. Second Constituency candidate Ahmed Al-Hamad criticized the change of educational strategy whenever a new minister is appointed.

He stressed the importance of adopting a well-studied strategy which should be implemented regardless of the name of the minister. He said a successful educational strategy must consider the social environment and meet the national requirements. He added the previous ministers wasted several years in pushing for the implementation of educational strategies adopted from other countries, as these strategies failed simply because they are not suitable for the Kuwaiti society.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff