Kuwait - Parliament Election 2009
The 2009 parliamentary election, held two months after the emir dissolved the National Assembly, was generally considered free and fair. It was the third election in three years, due to the emir’s previous constitutional dissolutions of parliament in 2006 and 2008. On 16 May 2009, two months after the emir dissolved the National Assembly, tribal candidates gained seats in a parliamentary election that was generally considered free and fair. It was the third election in three years, due to the emir's constitutional dissolution of parliament in May 2006, March 2008, and March 2009. On April 12, police arrested trade unionist Khalid Al-Tahous, a parliamentary tribal candidate, for "incitement against the state" after he told an election rally that tribes would oppose any attempts to enforce the law prohibiting tribal primaries. After being detained for eight days, he apologized for his statements and was released on bail to continue his ultimately successful election campaign.
In addition to the four women elected to the National Assembly in May, the emir appointed a woman as minister of education. There has been a female minister in every cabinet since 2005. There were nine Shia members in the parliament, the most ever elected to the National Assembly since its 1962 founding. There were also two appointed Shia members of the cabinet.
Despite early hopes of some liberals that an era of greater cooperation between the legislative and executive branches might have emerged from the May elections, continuing political posturing by MPs over the summer led most Kuwaitis to doubt that the current crop of MPs will rise above self-serving agendas to act in the interests of Kuwait. There is a widespread expectation on all sides that the Islamist/tribalist opposition will continue to mount attacks on the the Prime Minister and several of his ministers with "irresponsible" (in the view of the elite liberal class) demands that the government absorb private consumer debt and expand healthcare services abroad for Kuwaitis.
Notably absent from the agenda, in the view of many Kuwaiti "progressives" was a long overdue dialogue on labor reforms, TIP, counterterrorism, and healthcare and education reform. In a climate that promised to be contentious, Amir Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al Sabah, nodding to the Minister of Interior's successful staving off of grilling attacks in June 2009, has publicly encouraged cabinet members to "not be afraid of grilling." [questioning in parliamentary sessions] This admonition is intended to spark the ministers' senses of ownership in their portfolios, but leaves open the question of whether the government will provide them a safety net. Fearing scapegoatism, ministers have historically proved disinclined to embark on initiatives that might subject them to public or parliamentary scrutiny. It remained an open question whether the Amir's remarks will encourage Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al Sabah himself to face his detractors; he has avoided such an encounter in his last six attempts to run the government.
Few Kuwaiti analysts viewed the May election as having inspired the country's various political and social factions to work towards a common goal. Instead, Sunnis, Shi'a, liberals, conservatives, Hadhar (settled), Bedouin, ruling family members and members of the press have carried out over the summer of 2009a continuing round of public and private skirmishes and maneuvers. In the view of many Kuwaiti analysts, loss of confidence in the country's leadership exacerbated the tendency of Kuwait's various factions to dig in and strategize how best to advance their particular interests.
While most Kuwaiti political analysts perceive the government's inability to bring the factions to brook as a sign of its ineptness, at least a few believe the Amir has subtly but deliberately encouraged parliamentary infighting (by simultaneously backing the PM and some of his rivals in the ruling family, particularly Deputy PM Shaykh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al Sabah) as a means to prejudice citizens against the parliament and sustain their dependence on the ruling family.
His Highness Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah was named Prime Minister on 30 November 2011, and sworn in as Kuwait’s 7th Prime Minister on 04 December 2011. He replaced HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, who had served as Prime Minister from 07 February 2006 to 28 November 2011. Prior to becoming Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah held the post of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Minister of Defence in July 2006. A year later, in October 2007, he became First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.
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