Kuwait seeks end to parliament dissolution controversy
A new decree to dissolve Kuwait’s parliament could be issued to end the controversy sparked by the increasingly divisive constitutional interpretations of the earlier decision, according to the Al Aan news portal.
The emir on December 6 issued the decree dissolving the 50-member parliament upon a recommendation from the government.
However, several Kuwaiti lawmakers and legal experts said that the decree should not have been issued on the grounds that the government that recommended it had no genuine powers for the matter.
Kuwait’s government stepped down on November 28 following intense parliament and street pressure. The resignation was accepted by the Emir on the same day.
However, only the new prime minister was appointed and, in an unprecedented move, he took the oath in front of the Emir before naming his ministers, leaving the outgoing ministers as caretakers to run the urgent matters of the state until a new government is formed.
The recommendation by the cabinet on December 6 to the Emir to dissolve the parliament was immediately challenged by former lawmakers and legal experts as unconstitutional “as it emanated from a government that did not really exist.”
However, other experts insisted that the call for the government was in place and that the dissolution was constitutional.
“The conditions when the parliament could be dissolved and the subsequent procedures including the call for electing a new parliament are clearly stipulated in the constitution,” Faisal Al Saraawi, the chairman of the Department of Fatwa and Legislation (DFL), said.
The divergent views sparked heated debates in the country
On Monday, the government did not hold its weekly session as scheduled, reportedly to avoid wading into the ominously growing controversy.
Statements by Kuwaitis to challenge the decision to dissolve the parliament in the court could mean the procrastination by weeks of the elections and a reinstatement of the dissolved parliament.
Under Kuwait’s laws, the new prime minister has to form his government within two days while the elections must be held within 60 days of the parliament dissolution.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-seeks-end-to-parliament-dissolution-controversy-1.950248
