Kuwait City: After the opening session of the 16th legislative term of Kuwait’s National Assembly, many are wondering if the events that unfolded will impact parliament moving forward?
The most prominent take away from the first session was that Marzouq Al Ghanim was re-elected as speaker of parliament after receiving 33 votes from the 64 members that were present.
Al Ghanim’s re-election came as a surprise to many as 42 of the elected MPs publicly declared, last week, that they will be backing Bader Al Humaidi’s nomination for speaker.
“The MPs that vowed they will vote for Al Humaidi but did not shows that they are against the public’s calls to replace Al Ghanim as the speaker of parliament,” Saud Al Asfoor, a Kuwaiti writer, told Gulf News.
“We backed Al Humaidi because it is what the people wanted. The fact that many MPs ended up not voting for him puts us all in a circle of doubt in front of the public because the vote was done secretly and nobody knows exactly who voted for who,” Dr Abdulaziz Al Saqobi, an MP, told Gulf News.
The events that occurred during the opening session brought up several topics that were deemed as crucial, from reforming the voting process for the office of the parliament (speaker, deputy speaker, etc..) to the importance of changing various laws.
What happened during the opening session?
The members of parliament, made of 50 elected MPs and 16 appointed ministers (one of whom is a member of parliament as well), all took part in the voting process. Since the voting process is done anonymously it is unclear who each person voted for.
“Although only 28 out of the 42 MPs ended up voting for Al Humaidi, the fact that the rest avoided congratulating Al Ghanim on his win goes to show that they know that reinstating him as speaker is contrary to what the public wants,” Al Asfoor explained.
The 42 MPs that publicly stated to vote for Al Humaidi are a combination of incumbents, MPs of previous parliaments and newly elected candidates. Those that decided to back Al Humaidi are seen as the ‘opposition’, a loosely coined term in the sphere of Kuwaiti politics that is often used to describe those against the government’s approach.
Prior to the opening session, the majority of the MPs asked that the voting process be done publicly.
In addition, different legal professionals were consulted to understand whether article 35 of the parliament’s procedural law (in Arabic known as Al Laeha Al Dakhliya) can be overruled as the Kuwaiti constitution (the highest mandate) does not mention how the voting process should take place.
Al Saqobi explained that they suggested two different proposals, one that the voting occurs by name and one that the voting box is brought to the MPs seat. “The second proposal does not go against the view of the temporary speaker, as the vote would have still been done secretly, but this puts more pressure on the MPs because maybe somebody sitting next to them was able to see who they voted for,” Al Saqobi mentioned.
A day after the session, on Wednesday, Al Saqobi, including four other MPs, submitted a proposal to amend the parliament’s procedural law so that the voting process for the office of the parliament would be done publicly.
Although this is not the first time MPs demand to amend article 35 of the parliament’s procedural law, Al Asfoor pointed out there has been growing cries as they felt that, “political money has affected the voting process for speaker.”
“While we need to change the law, in parallel, we need to also focus on passing important legislation that will show that we are all still working towards reform and achieving the public’s demands,” Al Saqobi said.
Impact moving forward
Following the session, many begged to ask: what happened during the opening session and how will this affect the way the parliament moves forward?
Al Asfoor pointed out that while, “they [MPs] were able to get away with going against the public demands as the vote for speaker was done anonymously, they won’t be able to in the future when they vote on laws or on no-confidence motion against a minister as their names will be made public.”
While the first session does not dictate everything, many have argued that it sets the tone for the duration of the term.
In a press statement following Tuesday’s session, MP Marzouq Al Khalifa said, “unfortunately people were disappointed in the outcomes of the first session as they were hoping that it leads to reform, starting with changing the speaker.”
While the vote for the speaker has some significance, as the speaker is the one that sets the agenda and preserves the order inside the parliament, it does not determine the course of action of the whole term.
“For us to move forward and achieve change two things are needed: (1) the majority of MPs stand together to deliver the promises they made to the Kuwaiti people and push for laws that are demanded crucial by the public and (2) that the government works with us and listens to what the Kuwaiti people are asking for,” Al Saqobi explained.
Change in speaker
Al Ghanim, who has held the position of speaker since 2013, ran against Al Humaidi, the former Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Housing.
The call to replace Al Ghanim as speaker was brought up a lot during the election cycle, as many candidates publicly stated that they will vote against the previous speaker if elected.
A few hours after the election results were finalised, on December 6, Al Humaidi announced he will be running for speaker.
On December 7, Bader Al Dahoom, previously an MP in the February 2012 parliament, called on the newly elected members to attend a meeting where they discussed a variety of issues. Most importantly, they agreed to replace Al Ghanim as speaker. In addition, they decided to hold a second meeting to decide on a deputy speaker and establish a coordination committee; 38 MPs attended the meeting.
This is not the first time that the MPs get together prior to the opening session. Historically, MPs would get together to try to coordinate on several matters, especially since Kuwait lack’s political parties making it difficult for an MP to pass legislation without creating partnerships.
Role of the government
The 16 appointed ministers, one of which is an MP as the Kuwaiti constitution states that at least one of the 50 elected MPs should hold the position as both an MP and minister, are free to participate in all voting processes in the parliament, except during a no-confidence vote.
“Why is that the government gets to participate in the appointment of the speaker, yet the MPs are barred from voting during the formation of the cabinet of ministers?” Al Asfoor questioned.
While the legislative branch is tasked with passing laws, they also operate as the checks and balances to ensure that the executive branch does not over step its mandate.
“As MPs we are responsible for monitoring the government and so we need to amend some laws so that we can clearly outline what the role of the government is inside the parliament,” Al Saqobi stated.
Important topics moving forward
A day after the opening session, several MPs submitted several proposals to change a variety of issues from the amnesty bill and press and publication law to the parliamentary procedural law and the electoral law.
“While we intend on proposing other very important laws that have to do with the demographic imbalance to education, we started off with submitting proposals to amend laws that are more political to set the stage so it makes it easier for us to pass legislation regarding more technical issues,” Al Saqobi explained.
One of the proposals that were submitted was in regards to the amnesty law. There are several amnesty draft laws that have been proposed in the past, some of which stipulate pardoning those that partook in one event, while others ask for pardoning based on a time frame. Earlier this year, three amnesty draft laws were proposed, one of which asking for those that took part in November 16 and 17, 2011 protests to be pardoned. The protestors stormed into the parliament building after a no-confidence request against the former Prime Minister, Nasser Al Mohammed Al Sabah, was shot down.
It is expected that amendments to the electoral law and the press and publications law will be presented within the upcoming weeks.
In 2012, the late Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, issued an Emiri decree to change the electoral system from a four-voting system to a single nontransferable vote. The topic of changing the one-vote system has gained traction recently, especially after some MPs in the previous legislative term were able to put forth draft laws calling for the voting system to change.
In terms of freedom of expression, the public, as well as several MPs, have demanded that the 2015 law, known as the new cybercrime law, be amended as it regulates online activities, with many claiming that it infringes on their public rights. Several Kuwaitis have been charged and imprisoned under this law.
