Kuwait opposition warns of street pressure
Opposition group protests plan to ban former MP from running in the elections
Manama: Kuwait's opposition has threatened to take to the streets if the authorities ban former MP Faisal Al Mislim from running in next month's parliamentary elections.
"We had planned to meet on Thursday to agree on a common conduct if his candidacy is frozen," Waleed Al Tabtabai, a former lawmaker, said. "But we will now hold our meeting on Saturday afternoon. All options remain on the table, including going back to the street and pulling out of the elections," he said.
A committee tasked with assessing the eligibility of the candidates to contest in the national polls on February 2 is scheduled to announce the final list this week.
However, reports have claimed that Al Mislim and other candidates were likely to be dropped, prompting the Islamists to announce that they would go back to their street pressure tactics.
The opposition in the outgoing parliament held a series of rallies in Kuwait City to pile up pressure on the government of Shaikh Nasser Al Mohammad to step down.
The movement culminated with the storming of the parliament in an unprecedented move that drew the ire of several segments of the Kuwaiti society and prompted calls for legal action against the former lawmakers who led the protestors as they forced their way into the building.
The government resigned in late November and the parliament was dissolved in early December.
Around 400,000 Kuwaitis are scheduled to cast their ballots to elect 50 lawmakers. Several candidates have openly resorted to their tribes or to their sects to secure crucial support even though campaigning has not officially started.
