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Kuwaiti court says 2013 parliament is legal

Arab World Materials 23 December 2013 15:28 (UTC +04:00)
Kuwait's constitutional court ruled on Monday in favour of this year's parliamentary election, rejecting complaints considering the electoral law and the assembly illegal
Kuwaiti court says 2013 parliament is legal

Kuwait's constitutional court ruled on Monday in favour of this year's parliamentary election, rejecting complaints considering the electoral law and the assembly illegal, dpa reported.

The court received a total of 55 appeals to the July elections, the third in the Gulf state in less than two years. The appeals could have led to the dissolution of parliament and a fresh election.

Judge Yousef al-Mutawaah only accepted two appeals challenging the results over two seats. He revoked membership of lawmakers Maassouma al-Mubarak and Osama al-Tahoos, and gave the seats in the constituencies to other candidates.

The July elections were held following a ruling by the Constitutional Court in June that voided the previous parliament elected in December 2012, after opposition protests demanded its dissolution.

Shortly after Monday's ruling, parliament speaker Marzouq al-Ghanem announced he received a notice of the cabinet's resignation and that the government will not attend Tuesday's parliament session, when lawmakers were expected to vote on a no-confidence motion against Minister of Planning and Development Rola Dashti.

Media reports speculated that Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah will reshuffle the cabinet, after reports that lawmakers will present motions to quiz ministers on allegations of corruption.

Kuwait was the first country in the Gulf region to establish an elected parliament in 1963. While it holds free parliamentary elections, effective power remains in the hands of the ruling al-Sabah family, whose emir appoints governments.

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