Manama: A parliamentary committee has recommended suspending a lawmaker for 20 sessions for allegedly verbally abusing two other MPs.
“Our recommendation is that MP Osama Jaber Muhanna should not be allowed to attend the next 20 sessions,” Ahmad Al Mulla, the head of the legal and legislative committee, said on Sunday. “We noted that there was no majority in the committee to push for the dropping of the MP from the lower chamber, so we went for the suspension,” he said.
Under the bylaws, an MP could be suspended for a period of more than 10 sessions, but must resume his responsibilities before the end of the term.
Osama Jaber had waded into controversy after he threatened to hurl a book he was holding at fellow MP Ghanem Al Buainain who had asked him to confine his remarks to the matter being discussed. He later reportedly had a heated argument with MP Sawsan Al Taqawi who seemingly blamed him for his attack on Al Buainain.
The recommendation will be discussed at the weekly meeting of the lower house on Tuesday. Osama Jaber was among the 18 MPs elected on October 24 and November 1 to replace the lawmakers who represented Al Wefaq, but who resigned en masse in February to protest against the way the authorities tackled demonstrators at the former Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) roundabout.
