Manama: Kuwait’s parliamentary by-elections could be held on June 24 — just before the beginning of Ramadan, which is expected to start on June 28, sources said.
The government is expected to announce this week the dates for submitting applications to contest in the by-elections to vote in five lawmakers, two in the Second Constituency, two in the Third Constituency and one in the Fourth Constituency, local daily Al Nahar reported on Sunday.
The seats became vacant after five members of parliament resigned this month to protest against the parliament’s decision not to proceed with the grilling of Prime Minister Shaikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah over alleged mismanagement and irregularities.
Riyadh Al Adasani, Abdul Kareem Al Kundari and Hussain Al Mutairi who had called for the grilling had resigned first. Ali Al Rashed, a former parliament speaker, and Safa Al Hashem handed in their resignations four days later.
On Thursday, the parliament accepted their resignations after attempts to persuade them to withdraw them failed.
The resignations marked the end of a relatively calm period in the parliament elected in July last year after rounds of bitter disputes between the opposition and the government.
Kuwait has the oldest directly-elected parliament in the Gulf Cooperation Council. The first parliament was elected in 1963. However, none of the parliaments elected since 2003 in the northern Arabian Gulf country could complete their full, four-year terms.
