KUWAIT CITY, Aug 18: A total of 46 MPs forwarded 5,212 queries to ministers; 17 of which were forwarded to HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid during the 16th parliamentary term. The 2020 Parliament came second, after the 15th parliamentary term, in terms of the total number of queries forwarded to ministers. However, considering that the 15th parliamentary term lasted for 1,409 days and the 16th parliamentary term lasted only for 596 days, the 16th parliamentary term comes first in terms of the number of queries.

This means nine queries per day were forwarded to ministers during the 16th parliamentary term compared to four per day in the 15th parliamentary term. The ministers responded to 3,583 queries or 68.70 percent of the total; 1,229 queries or 23.57 percent were left unanswered; and ministers requested for more time to respond to 403 queries or 7.73 percent. In the first year of the 16th parliamentary term; 3,724 queries or 71 percent were forwarded to ministers, compared to 1,491 or 29 percent in the second year.

Following is a breakdown of queries forwarded to ministers -- from highest to lowest:

1. 670 or 12.85 percent for the minister of finance and state minister for economic and investment affairs

2. 512 or 9.82 percent for the minister of education and higher education

3. 495 or 9.49 percent for the health minister

4. 443 or 8.49 percent for the minister of oil and state minister for cabinet affairs

5. 399 or 7.65 percent for the minister of commerce and industry

6. 371 or 7.15 percent for the minister of interior

7. 349 or 6.69 percent for the minister of public works, electricity, water and sustainable energy

8. 326 or 6.25 percent for the minister of justice and state minister for integrity enhancement

9. 288 or 5.52 percent for the state minister for municipal, communications and information technology affairs

10. 251 or 4.81 percent for the minister of social affairs and state minister for housing and urban development

11. 175 or 3.36 percent each for the defense and foreign affairs ministers

The 17 queries forwarded to Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid were from the following MPs: Hassan Jawhar - eight, Shuaib Al-Muwaizri - three, Mehalhal Al-Mudhaf - two, and one each from Marzouq Al-Khalifa, Mubarak Al-Hajraf, Muhannad Al-Sayer and Bader Al-Mullah.

The MPs who forwarded queries are ranked according to the number of queries:

1. Mehalhal Al-Mudhaf - 670;

2. Abdulaziz Al-Saqaabi - 579;

3. Muhammad Al-Hewaila - 323;

4. Hamad Al-Matar - 314;

5. Osama Al-Shaheen - 244;

6. Muhannad Al-Sayer - 222;

7. Bader Al-Mullah - 184;

8. Abdullah Al-Mudaf - 183;

9. Saleh Zeib Al-Mutairi - 179;

10. Marzouq Al-Khalifa - 175;

11. Hassan Jawhar - 173;

12. Osama Al-Menawer - 166.

Moreover, 10 out of 28 individuals accused of participating and organizing primary elections for Bani Ghanim Tribe were referred to the Central Jail according to the decision of the Public Prosecution to detain them for 21 days.

In another development, speculation is rife that former National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Sa’adoun will stand for the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, former MPs Hamad Al-Matar, Abdullah Al- Mudaf, Bader Al-Humaidi, Osama Al-Menawer and former Deputy Speaker Ahmad Al-Shuhoumi have unveiled their plan to stand for the elections; in addition to potential candidates Abdulwahab Al-Essa for the Second Constituency, Abdulaziz Hamdan Al-Azmi for the Fourth Constituency and Abdullah Nasser Al-Ajmi for the Fifth Constituency. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff