Kuwait may allow political parties

A senior Kuwaiti minister and a key member of the Al Sabah ruling family said in comments yesterday that political parties and "rotation of power" will be allowed in the country at "one stage."

"Rotation of power will be adopted in Kuwait one day," Energy Minister Sheikh Fahd Al Ahmad Al Sabah was quoted as saying at a meeting in Beirut where he attended a conference of the Opec ministers. "But the legal status of governance is well stated in the constitution which was basically a social-political charter agreed between the ruler and citizens. There are however, mechanisms to amend the constitution" the minister said.

Kuwait constitution, pro-mulgated in 1962, stipulates that Kuwait is a hereditary constitutional country, where the ruler, who is head of state, must be from the descendants of the Mubarak Al Kabir branch of the Al Sabah family.

This fact has never been challenged by Kuwaitis, including liberal and opposition groups, but demands surfaced at times calling to allocate the prime ministership to ordinary Kuwaitis rather than members of the ruling family.

Even such demands have taken a back seat in recent years, and particularly after the posts of crown prince and prime were separated following last July's general elections.

Kuwait is the first Gulf Arab country to have a lively political life and an elected parliament which has vast legislative powers and can question ministers. Sheikh Ahmad also said that various political grou-pings will one day be allowed to become full-fledged political parties.

"At present, we have political blocs and not parties, (but) these parties will come at a certain stage," the minister said without providing any time-frame or indication on how or when they will be allowed.

Three liberal and four Islamic political groupings operate in Kuwait at present without restrictions from the authorities. Most of them are represented in parliament.

Liberal Groups include the Democratic Forum, National Democratic Movement and National Democratic Alliance which was established last December.

Islamists include the Islamic Constitutional Mov-ement, or Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Salafi Alliance, the Salaf Movement, all Sunnis, and the Islamic National Alliance, a Shiite group.

In addition, Kuwait has more than 150 non-governmental organisations with clear political agendas.

The Kuwaiti constitution bans political parties and the country's election process is not based on party system, but political groups field their own candidates in polls. Repeated calls by opposition groups to legalise political parties have been turned down by the government which says the country is not yet prepared for such political development.

– The author is an Arab journalist based in Kuwait.