KUWAIT CITY, May 29: The number of parliamentary election candidates, who withdrew from the electoral race, reached 19 one day before the deadline for withdrawal of candidacies; while five candidates were disqualified by the concerned committee. This brings the total number of candidates down to 228. Following are the candidates who withdrew:

First Constituency (one female candidate) — Sara Al- Dabi Second Constituency (one male candidate) — Hassan Dashti

Third Constituency (three male candidates) — Shamlan Al-Herban, Muhammad Muhammad and Walid Al- Nasser

Fourth Constituency (12 male candidates) —Badr Al- Mutairi, Jamal Al-Mutairi, Jamaan Al- Azmi, Hamad Al- Saeedi, Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Zaid Al-Mutairi, Ali Al-Raheli, Ali Al-Rashedi, Awad Al-Anzi, Majed Mousa Al-Mutairi, Nasser Al-Rashedi and Naif Al-Adwani

Fifth Constituency (two male candidates) — Saad Al- Kandari and Meshabab Al-Sahli. Meanwhile, former MP and Fourth Constituency candidate Fayez Al-Jomhour said the housing issue can be solved if the decision maker is willing to do so.

He pointed out that Kuwait has enough space for housing, since only 10 percent of its total area is occupied. Regarding the budget for addressing the housing issue, he revealed the estimated cost is almost KD20 billion, which can be loaned in batches for five or 15 years from the country’s investment fund. He said the profits of the fund for the recent year was $50 billion (about KD15 billion). He added this plan will provide 100,000 houses; which means no one will remain on the waiting list. He went on to say that if the government has a vision, the State budget should have depended on the revenues of the Future Generations Fund and other investment funds, and reserved the entire oil revenues for the future.

On the National Assembly speaker election, Al-Jomhour disclosed that he will vote for former Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun if the latter wins in the upcoming parliamentary election. If he wins in the election, Al-Jomhour intends to resubmit the bills that he submitted during the tenure of the 2020 Parliament; including the bill on viva voce voting for the speaker.

Member of the nullified 2022 Parliament and First Constituency candidate Hamad Al- Medlij said the Amiri amnesty was issued in favor of politicians, not the youths convicted in opinion cases. He promised to represent these youths in the next Parliament, in case he wins in the election. Former MP and Fourth Constituency candidate Musaed Al-Ardi asserted that His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is not part of the problem. He also clarified that his position in the opposition does not mean he is totaly against the government. “If His Highness the Prime Minister will present a good program and rescue plan for his government; I will support, cooperate and defend him,” he added. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff