Manama: Kuwait’s government will formally refer the electoral law to the Constitutional Court on Wednesday.

The cabinet will contend that the law, adopted in 2006, does not guarantee a fair distribution of the number of voters in the five constituencies. It will also challenge the right to vote for four candidates, local Arabic daily Al Jareeda reported on Tuesday.

The cabinet’s move comes almost two months after the Constitutional Court ruled that the decrees to dissolve the parliament elected in 2009 and to call for parliamentary elections in February were unconstitutional.

The decision dissolved the 2012 parliament and re-established the 2009 parliament, resulting in a bitter standoff between the government and the opposition.

The 2009 parliament twice failed to convene to swear-in the newly formed government, prompting Speaker Jassem Al Khorafi to submit a letter to the Emir about the non-application of the Constitutional Court ruling.

The opposition charged that the government had plotted a coup against the constitution and pledged to apply street pressure tactics to force the government to revoke the decision to dissolve the 2012 parliament.

However, several lawmakers and analysts have accused the 2012 parliament, made up mainly of Islamists and members with strong tribal affiliations, of seeking to benefit from the standoff.

The feud was taken up by the Emir in an address to the nation this week.

“The wrong political practices adopted by some people have contributed to impeding the process of development in the country, hindered the implementation of much-anticipated reforms, dispersed efforts and caused the loss of the focus on directing energies to nation building and development,” Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah said on Sunday evening.

“Everyone should be aware of the changes and risks around us and should appreciate the current circumstances and situations that require us to be cautious and to confront them in order to protect our beloved country. This will not be possible without our cohesion and our ability to stand in the face of anyone who tries to cause prejudice or to threaten our national unity and social fabric.”

Several Kuwaiti academics, quoted by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna), urged the nation to use the Emiri address as a roadmap to overcome differences and foster national unity.