Kuwait bars 14 candidates from running in elections

Manama: Kuwait has barred 14 parliament candidates from running in the elections after an ad-hoc committee disqualified them.

Three more candidates could be eliminated from the highly-anticipated race to the 50-seat parliament on February 2 when around 400,000 Kuwaitis are scheduled to cast their ballots.

The committee tasked with looking into the eligibility of the candidates to run in the elections on Tuesday decided that five hopefuls, including one woman, could not be accepted for having a negative police record.

The other nine did not have an impeccable reputation as required by the constitutional court, the committee said after sifting through hundreds of documents and testimonies.

Those barred from running could challenge the decision and file lawsuits, and two candidates have said that they would lodge a complaint.

Former MP Faisal Al Mislem will have to wait for a court verdict in a case brought against him by a local bank after displaying a private cheque at a parliament session.

The bank has charged that the conservative ex-MP unlawfully obtained the cheque and showed it off in public.

Two other candidates will have to wait for rulings to see if their bid for the parliament will be upheld by the committee.