Kuwait - Parliament Election 2006
Pro-reform, opposition candidates made significant gains in the 29 June 2006 parliamentary elections, an outcome seen by many Kuwaitis as a vote for reform and against corruption. As is usual, MPs organized themselves into blocs through which they cooperate on a common legislative agenda and coordinate with other MPs and the Government. What could be termed loosely as the Opposition was composed of three blocs: the Popular Action Bloc (9 MPs), the National Action Bloc (8 MPs), and the Islamist Bloc (17 MPs), giving the Opposition a two-seat majority in the 65-member Parliament. While these blocs shared similar objectives on political reform, there were otherwise significant differences among them, particularly on social, religious, and foreign policy issues. There is also a 12-member Independent (pro-Government) Bloc and the 16 Cabinet Ministers who serve as ex officio MPs and always vote as a bloc.
Some MPs are also members of political associations, which operate outside Parliament; political parties are not officially recognized by the Government. The largest and most well-organized of these is the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM), the political arm of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, which had six MPs in Parliament. Other political associations vary in size and degree of organization; some are no more than informal groupings of like-minded individuals. The Iran-leaning, Shi'a National Islamic Alliance (NIA) and the conservative, Sunni Salafi Islamic Grouping (SIG) each had two MPs in Parliament.
Tribal, familial, and personal relations also play a role in determining MPs' positions on particular issues, especially when they are called upon to exercise their wasta (connections) on behalf of a relative, friend, or constituent. Twenty-four of the 50 elected MPs were of tribal origin: Awazim (7), Mutran (4), Eneza (3), Ajman (3), Rashayda (3), Otban (3), and Shammar (1). The urban-tribal division is an important distinction in Kuwait and one with significant political implications; tribal MPs tend to be either Islamist or pro-Government, whereas liberals rarely have tribal affiliations. In addition, in spite of being 30-35% of the population, there are only four Shi'a MPs in Parliament, a fact most observers blamed on divisions within the Shi'a community.
Relations between Kuwait's executive branch and Parliament were consistently tense since the current Amir, Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Sabah, came to power in January 2006. Parliamentarians kept the government on the defensive with accusations of corruption and mismanagement, and the GOK's efforts to recapture the initiative were largely ineffective. This impasse produced a series of "grillings" (interpellations), both threatened and actual, against government ministers. As a result, five ministers resigned or were forced out from January to October 2007. Due to this contentious relationship, Parliament was largely ineffective and failed to pass much needed political and social reform legislation. Meanwhile, MPs demonstrated a disturbing preference for constituent pandering and politically motivated grillings, as opposed to tending to the people's business.
The Amir remains the bottom line of leadership authority in Kuwait, to the extent that he chooses to exercise it (which is increasingly rare). Senior officials know that the Prime Minister wields only such authority as he is granted by the Amir, who is generally exempt from open criticism. In forming his government in 2008, the Amir for the first time divided what had been a combined portfolio into two, Crown Prince and Prime Ministr, which had been a longstanding subject of discussion. This may have been a deliberate move to create a separate "lightening rod" for the National Assembly in the person of the PM, keeping the CP inviolate.
Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser was selected by the Amir for this position precisely because he represented the least common denominator: non-controversial, diplomatic in his bearing and background, and unlikely to rock any political boats. His previous two terms as PM have ended with the Amir abruptly dissolving the National Assembly when its criticisms of government policies and ministers, and the PM himself, got out of hand. Although well-liked on a personal level, Shaykh Nasser is perceived as a politically incompetent, protocol wonk whose record is tarnished by his failure to construct and effectively manage his cabinet. The current Crown Prince, Shaykh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al Sabah, is similarly (and correctly) viewed as being an extremely decent and nice, weak and ineffectual leader, thoroughly disengaged from politics.
Kuwait's Cabinet resigned en masse 04 March 2007 on the eve of a scheduled parliamentary vote of no confidence on Health Minister Shaykh Ahmed Abdullah Al-Sabah. The Cabinet, the 23rd since Kuwait gained independence in 1961, lasted only eight months. The Amir then began the customary consultation period before appointing a new Prime Minister, which most expect to remain Shaykh Nasser Mohammed Al-Sabah, the Amir's nephew. Once appointed, there was no time limit on the Prime Minister to form a new Cabinet, unless specified by Amiri decree; however, normally this process takes less than two weeks. Parliament automatically recessed until the new Government was formed. In the meantime, the previous Cabinet served as the "caretaker Government." The resignations represented a victory for opposition parliamentarians, particularly Islamists, whose questioning of the Health Minister on February 19 precipitated the Government collapse.
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