The action of the 83-year-old emir against the Kuwaiti parliament

Mehr News, International Group: Emir of Kuwait, in a rare move, ordered the dissolution of the parliament, whose first session has not been held yet. . In this article, the reasons and messages of the Amir of Kuwait’s action are examined.

Kuwait is a country with an area of ​​17,818 square meters located in West Asia, which is with the countries of Iraq and Saudi Arabia has land borders with Iran via Persian Gulf has blue borders. This country gained independence in 1961 and February 25 is the anniversary of the independence of this country. The type of government of Kuwait is an Emirate Kingdom. According to the Constitution of Kuwait, power is hereditary in the Al-Sabah family, and the government of Kuwait is composed of Legislative, judicial and executive powers It is separated from each other and a consultative council helps the Emir of Kuwait in state affairs. Government activities are also controlled by the National Assembly of Kuwait according to the constitution. The National Assembly of Kuwait was formed in July 1963 with 50 members. Of course, the National Assembly of Kuwait has 65 members, of which 15 other members are members of the government.

The dissolution of parliament and severe political disorder in Kuwait

The National Assembly of Kuwait is the main legislative body in this country. Is. According to the Constitution of Kuwait, the Parliament of this country, in addition to the right to approve or reject laws, is allowed to question the Prime Minister and color:white”>ministers and not even giving vote Confidence or impeachment of senior government officials. However, the life of the parliament in Kuwait has always been short and has reached less than 4 years. Since 1991, parliamentary elections have been held almost every two years, and only 3 parliaments have been able to function fully, namely in 1992, 1999 and 2016. Parliamentary elections were canceled 3 times in the last 12 years. The reason for canceling the elections and preventing the formation of a new parliament was the opposition’s success in winning the majority of parliamentary seats. Only in less than 4 years, 4 elections have been held on December 5, 2020, September 29, 2022, June 6, 2023 and April 4, 2024.

The political crises in Kuwait and the frequent dissolution of the parliament have also affected the formation of the government in this country. Since 1962, 46 governments have been formed in Kuwait. 14 governments were formed from 1962 to 1991, 14 governments from 1991 to 2012, and 18 governments from 2012 to now. In other words, while 28 governments were formed in Kuwait in 50 years and the average life of governments in this country was one year and 8 months, the average life of governments in the last 12 years decreased to less than 7 months, which indicates severe political disorder. In this small country in the Persian Gulf, it is governed by families and tribes.

Why dissolve the parliament that has not been formed yet

Kuwait witnessed parliamentary elections last April. The first session of the parliament was supposed to be held, but it was postponed by the order of the Emir of Kuwait and based on Article 106. While the first session of the parliament was expected to be held, Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad, the Emir of Kuwait, ordered the dissolution of the parliament. In fact, Kuwait’s 2024 parliament is the first parliament that was dissolved before its opening session. Based on Principles 102 and 107 of the Constitution of Kuwait, the Emir of this country has the right to dissolve the parliament of this country by citing sufficient evidence. has the However, the parliamentary elections must be held within two months at the latest from the dissolution of the parliament.

The emir of Kuwait is now not in the order to dissolve the parliament of Kuwait Not only has he not set a time for holding new elections, but he has suspended some provisions of the constitution for 4 years. Although the dissolution of the Kuwaiti parliament and the re-holding of early elections have been repeated, especially in recent years, the suspension of some articles of the constitution has occurred for the third time since the beginning of the democracy process in Kuwait in 1962.

The important question is why the Emir of Kuwait decided Has it dissolved a parliament that has not yet been formed? According to the Constitution of Kuwait, the first session of the country’s parliament must be held within two weeks from the date of the election. However, Mushal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, ordered the dissolution of the parliament 37 days after the election. The Emir of Kuwait said about the reasons for such an important decision: Kuwait has recently gone through difficult times and leaves no room for hesitation or delay in making a difficult decision to save the country and secure its best interests. Emir of Kuwait emphasized that we will take a tough decision to save the country and provide its best interests and we will not allow democracy to be abused to destroy the country.

Therefore, it seems that dissatisfaction with the results of the recent elections is the main factor behind Sheikh Meshaal’s decision to dissolve the parliament, which even Not a single meeting was held. In the recent elections held on April 4, the opposition managed to win the majority of seats in the parliament again. The participation rate in the Kuwaiti parliament elections was 62.10% and according to the official results of the Kuwaiti parliament elections, the opposition won 29 of the 50 seats in the parliament and maintained the majority process in the parliament. Therefore, it seems that what the Emir of Kuwait means by the statement that “I will not allow democracy to be abused to destroy the country” is the taking over of the majority of the parliament by the opposition.

Messages of the dissolution of the unformed parliament in Kuwait

Sheikh Meshaal’s action in dissolving the parliament, which did not hold even one session, contains important messages. It seems that the most important message of this action is that Kuwait is stepping towards weakening democracy and strengthening authoritarianism during the period of Mashal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The April 4 election was the first parliamentary election in Kuwait after the appointment of Mashal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as the Emir of this country. Sheikh Meshaal was elected as the Emir of Kuwait last December.

Democracy weakening in Kuwait while Kuwait is one of the few Arab countries that has minimal democracy in this country. The format of the parliamentary elections was manifested. Now it seems that Sheikh Meshaal has staged a coup against this minimal democracy and may even lead Kuwait to become more authoritarian and closer to the political model of other GCC member states by changing the constitution. The Emir of Kuwait considers elections and democracy to be a waste of resources and the cause of political and economic corruption.

Another important message that can be received from Sheikh Meshaal’s action is that the political environment of Kuwait is becoming more secure. It moves more. Sheikh Meshaal has a long history of intelligence and security in Kuwait. In his statements about the reasons for the dissolution of the parliament, he mentioned the issue of widespread corruption; A keyword that Muhammad bin Salman also used in 2017 to widely arrest his opponents and rivals within the Saudi family. For this reason, the Emir of Kuwait’s decision to dissolve the parliament was welcomed by the Saudi authorities and media.

Result

It has been 5 months since Sheikh Meshaal assumed the seat of the Emir of Kuwait. In these 5 months, two people were appointed as prime ministers, but they failed to form a cabinet. The first parliamentary elections in the new period were also held and even before the first session was held, the new emir of Kuwait ordered the dissolution of the parliament and the suspension of some articles of the country’s constitution. Sheikh Meshaal’s reference to the fact that people’s resources and time are being wasted and there is widespread political and economic corruption in the country, indicates that the new 83-year-old Emir of Kuwait has adopted a different method and is trying to increase his authority, use democracy in a “guided” way and prevent opposition and critics from gaining power in the country.

The decision of the 83-year-old Emir of Kuwait can mean prioritizing economic development in the light of tribal authoritarianism, such as which is seen in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. However, the important difference between Kuwait and these countries is that, unlike Kuwait, these countries do not have the history and experience of democracy and free elections. Therefore, the decision of the Emir of Kuwait may have security consequences for this country, or at least strengthen the secret activities of the opposition and even provide the ground for a coup against the Al Sabah family in the future.

Syed Razi Emadi; Expert on West Asian issues