Kuwait - Parliament Election 2022
Kuwait is a constitutional, hereditary emirate ruled by the Al Sabah family. While there is also a democratically elected parliament, the Amir holds ultimate authority over most government decisions. The most recent parliamentary general election, considered generally free and fair, was held in September 2022. Kuwait has the freest and most active assembly in the region, but the ruling Al Sabah family holds the power to appoint the prime minister and Cabinet, and can dissolve the assembly at any time.
Political stability in Kuwait has traditionally depended on cooperation between government and parliament. While Kuwait's leadership has responded to some opposition demands, including the pardoning of political dissidents, key reform proposals such as a public debt law continue to face legislative gridlock.
In 2022 Kuwait's crown prince dissolved parliament and called early polls in an effort to end prolonged domestic political feuding that had hindered fiscal reform. Frequent political bickering has often led to cabinet reshuffles and dissolutions of parliament, hampering investment and reforms aimed at reducing the country's heavy reliance on oil revenue.
The constitution stipulates the country is a hereditary emirate. The 50 elected members of the National Assembly (plus government-appointed ministers) must approve the Amir’s choice of crown prince by majority vote conducted by secret ballot. According to the Succession Law, the crown prince must be a male descendant of Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah and have attained the age of 30, possess a sound mind, and be a legitimate son of Muslim parents. The National Assembly may remove the Amir from power by a two-thirds majority vote if it finds that any of these three conditions were not met.
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by government agents; arbitrary arrest; political prisoners and detainees; serious restrictions on free expression and media, including censorship and the existence of criminal libel laws; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding, or operation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations.
Other human rights issues included restrictions on freedom of movement including the right to leave the country; serious government corruption; government harassment of domestic human rights organizations; lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence; trafficking in persons; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex persons; and the existence and use of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults.
UNHCR estimated there were 92,000 stateless persons in the country in 2020, including Bidoon residents considered illegal residents by authorities and not granted citizenship. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the media estimated the Bidoon resident population alone at more than 100,000, while the government reported the Bidoon population to be approximately 88,000.
Numerous activists representing stateless persons of Arab heritage – known as Bidoon – reported mistreatment at the hands of authorities while in detention. There continued to be allegations from individuals that they were subjected to unlawful detention and physical and verbal abuse in police centers and State Security detention centers. Multiple transgender individuals reported cases of rape and physical and verbal abuse by police and prison officials.
There were many reports of persons detained for expressing their political views. These individuals were given the same protections as other detainees and the government permitted human rights groups to visit them. Throughout the year the government continued to arrest individuals on charges such as insulting the Amir, leaders of neighboring countries, or the judiciary; or “spreading false news.” The courts issued final verdicts for seven cases and 28 nonfinal rulings in cases of individuals charged with insulting the Amir.
Some defendants were acquitted, while others received jail sentences ranging from one to 15 years. Sentences for organizing public demonstrations amongst the Bidoon, participating in unlicensed or illegal demonstrations against the country’s ruling system, spreading false news, or criticizing the Amir or other leaders on social media ranged from six months in prison to 10 years plus fines for multiple offenses.
The law bans certain issues for publication and public discussion. Topics banned for publication include insulting religion, in particular Islam; criticizing the Amir; endangering relations between Kuwait and friendly countries; insulting members of the judiciary or displaying disdain for the constitution; compromising classified information; sorcery; and publishing information that could lead to a devaluation of the currency or create false economic worries. In general, local activists, academics, journalists, and opposition political figures reported they were sometimes contacted by KSS, Ministry of Information, and Public Prosecutor’s Office officials after they had published opinions deemed contrary to government positions.
On 05 November 2022, the Interior Minister announced the removal of “security restrictions” on approximately 15,000 Kuwaiti citizens. The minister said the decision was intended to “support freedom of expression,” and align with the constitution, which states, “freedom of opinion is guaranteed.” The ministry had reportedly placed unspecified restrictions on certain citizens without obtaining court orders, such as barring them from entry into military colleges or from holding public sector leadership positions.
Independent media were active and expressed a variety of views within legally permissible limits. All print media were privately owned, although their independence was limited by law and self-censorship based on fear of prosecution. The government did not permit non-Islamic religious publishing companies, although several churches published religious materials solely for their congregations’ use. The law allows for large fines and up to 10 years in prison for persons who use any means (including media) to subvert the state. The Ministry of Information may request that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry ban any media organization; media organizations can challenge media bans in the administrative courts. Newspaper publishers must obtain an operating license from the Ministry of Information. Both government and privately owned broadcast media are subject to the same laws as print media.
In June 2022, the minister of information ordered the ministry to revoke the licenses of 90 electronic news services and referred 73 media outlets to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for violating press and publication, audiovisual, and electronic media laws. In July, the Ministry of Information announced it had referred 62 media outlets to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for violating the electronic media law and publishing false news regarding the Cabinet. In September, an assistant undersecretary of the Ministry of Information told local press that the ministry had referred 38 media outlets to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for violating the law in covering the ongoing parliamentary elections.
Media outlets exhibited a range of opinions on topics relating to social problems, but all appeared to self-censor, avoiding critical discussion on topics such as the Amir and religion. Media outlets also self-censored discussions of certain sensitive topics, such as sex. Authorities such as the Ministries of Education and Information censored most English language educational materials that mentioned the Holocaust and required educational material either to refer to Israel as “Occupied Palestine” or to remove such references entirely, although authorities did not censor these topics in the news media. Widely available satellite dishes and virtual private networks allowed unfiltered media access.
In March 2022 the Criminal Court sentenced a Twitter user to 10 years in prison with hard labor for defaming the Amir and insulting Saudi Arabia. In May the Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered state security forces to arrest ruling family member Sheikh Fahd Salem Al-Ali for posting a tweet allegedly criticizing the Amir.
Noncitizens and Bidoon are prohibited from demonstrating. The government requires citizens to obtain permits for public gatherings of more than 20 persons. Bidoon activists reported that if they tried to assemble peacefully or organize campaigns to gain equal rights, authorities regularly harassed them. Some Bidoon activists indicated they were detained for questioning by authorities each time they planned campaigns or protests.
Several Bidoon launched a sit-in campaign in early August to advocate for Bidoon rights and the abolition of the Central Agency for Resolving the Situation of Illegal Residents (“Central Agency”), which oversees Bidoon issues. On the twenty-second day of the sit-in, several hundred Bidoon and Kuwaiti activists gathered in Freedom Square. Several days after the gathering, 14 Bidoon and seven Kuwaiti activists were summoned for questioning. Media claimed the Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the detention of all 21 activists, then released the seven Kuwaitis on bail and banned them from travel.
Observers generally considered the September parliamentary election free and fair, and reported no serious procedural problems. Turnover among incumbents was 54 percent, slightly below the historical average of around 60 percent. Two women won seats, marking the end of a two-year gap without any female lawmakers. The Administrative Court rejected the appeals of 35 individuals barred from running for elections for unspecified reasons.
Although no law formally bans political parties, the government did not recognize political parties or allow their formation in practice. National Assembly candidates must nominate themselves as individuals. Well-organized, unofficial blocs operated as political groupings inside the National Assembly, and members of parliament formed loose alliances. Those convicted of any felony, serious crime, or insulting the Amir and Islam are banned from running for elected office. In 2019, the Court of Cassation issued a verdict that found citizens convicted of calling for or participating in unregistered demonstrations or protest rallies or resisting security operatives could not vote or stand for public office.
In September local media reported the Ministry of Interior’s Election Affairs Department disqualified 15 registered candidates from running in the September elections due to prior criminal convictions, such as criticizing the Amir. Some of those disqualified included former MPs and activists convicted for sharing on social media a controversial speech given by former opposition figure MP Musallam Al-Barrak in 2012. Eight of the disqualified candidates challenged the ban in administrative court, but the court upheld their disqualification. The candidates then challenged the verdict at the Court of Appeals, which referred the case to the Constitutional Court. In September the Constitutional Court ruled the law constitutional. As a result, all persons convicted of insulting the Amir have been barred for life from voting or running for office.
In August the Ministry of Interior announced that for the September elections all Kuwaitis who were 21 by election day were eligible to vote without prior registration, using their citizenship document and civil ID card listing their place of residence. As a result, the number of eligible voters increased by 40 percent to approximately 800,000 voters. Previously, voters had to register to vote and present their citizenship document. Many Kuwaitis praised this change and alleged the previous system enabled some candidates to illegally entice citizens to vote in districts where they did not reside. In November, the National Assembly approved amendments to the election law that made this change permanent. Despite these new amendments, it remains unclear if new voters are still required to register in February every year or not.
Prosecutors and judges from the Ministry of Justice supervise election stations. Women prosecutors served as supervisors for the first time during the 2016 elections. Annually the Ministries of Interior and Justice work together to purge from voter registration lists the names of those convicted of felonies, serious crimes, or insulting the Amir. Cases must reach a final verdict before names are removed. The election law criminalizes informal tribal primary elections for member of parliament candidates. According to the law, violators could face a prison term of up to five years. Over the reporting period, several citizens were arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced for participating in illegal tribal primary elections prior to the 2020 elections. In March, the Court of Appeals upheld the sentence of two former MPs for two years in prison for participating in tribal primary elections.
In August the Court of Cassation ordered that 27 defendants, including MP candidates Hamid al-Bathali and Marzouq al-Khalifa, remain in detention pending ongoing cases for alleged involvement in tribal primaries. The two MP candidates were permitted to run in the elections from prison, and both won seats in the National Assembly in September. On October 10, the Court of Cassation upheld a two-year sentence for al-Khalifa, former MP Sultan al-Lughaisam, and 27 other defendants on charges of participating in illegal tribal primaries prior to the 2020 parliamentary elections. Al-Bathali was released on bail and sworn in as an MP. As of December, al-Khalifa was serving his term under house arrest and has not yet been sworn in as an MP. A Kuwaiti citizen submitted a challenge to the Constitutional Court questioning al-Khalifa’s eligibility to serve as an MP.
In September the Public Prosecutor’s Office referred 112 defendants from the second electoral district to the Criminal Court for organizing tribal primary elections. All defendants except for six were released on bail while the investigation continued. In September the Ministry of Interior announced it entered a candidate’s home where vote buying was occurring and arrested an unspecified number of individuals. The ministry announced it confiscated a large amount of money intended to be used to buy votes. In September the Council of Ministers authorized three local NGOs to monitor the 2022 parliamentary elections, the Kuwait Transparency Society, the Kuwait National Integrity Society, and the Kuwait Journalists Society.
No laws limit participation of women or members of minority groups in the political process, and they did participate. Religious minority groups can freely participate in the political process, vote, and run for the National Assembly. LGBTQI+ individuals have not run for the National Assembly while openly acknowledging their orientation (see section 6, Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics). Although women gained the right to vote and run for office in 2005, they continue to face cultural, social, and financial barriers to full political participation.
For example, some tribal leaders excluded women from running for office by banning them from being considered as candidates for or attending unofficial but illegal tribal primaries. Cultural norms often led to the exclusion of women from local gatherings, called diwaniyas, which candidates attend to lobby for support from influential leaders and voters. The two appointed female cabinet members can vote within the country’s 50-seat parliament.
Twenty-six female candidates ran in the September parliamentary election, including for the first time, one woman from a traditional tribal region. Two women from Kuwait’s urban districts were elected as MPs. Analysts attributed this outcome to widespread discomfort with women in leadership roles, female candidates’ exclusion from financing and the traditional male-dominated social gatherings where much political campaigning takes places, and an electoral system that minimized the likelihood of voters allocating their one vote per slate of 10 district candidates to a female candidate.
Disagreements between parliament and the government have often led to the resignation of the Cabinet in the Gulf country. Kuwait's government resigned 23 January 2023 amid a power struggle with the Gulf country's assembly less than four months after parliamentary elections delivered a mandate for change. Kuwait’s opposition accused the government of graft and mismanagement, frequently grilling ministers over their involvement in the misallocation of public funds. The government, which is appointed by the ruling Al Sabah family, had been in a prolonged power struggle with the elected assembly, resulting in the fifth resignation in two years.
The government, which is appointed by the ruling family, has been in a prolonged power struggle with the elected assembly. They had recently clashed over the assembly's advancement of measures that the government deems too costly, as well as requests to grill two ministers over alleged economic mismanagement, Kuwaiti media reported. Relations had been particularly tense between the prime minister and the speaker of the National Assembly, elected in 2020 since the Constitutional Court in March 2023 annulled the September 2022 election results.
Kuwait's Constitutional Court annulled the results of last September's parliamentary election, in which the opposition made gains, and ruled in favour of reinstating the previous government. The move came at a time of renewed friction between the elected parliament and government and followed the reappointment this month of the country's prime minister, whose government had resigned in the stand-off with parliament. The court declared the dissolution of parliament as void and had annulled the early elections held in September.
Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah formed a new government 09 Aril 2023. Sheikh Ahmed was reappointed prime minister by the crown prince in March, more than a month after his government resigned following a standoff with parliament. The government formation came a few days after Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al Ghanim appealed to the country’s rulers to intervene to resolve the crisis between parliament and the premier after the government failed to appear before the assembly.
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