KUWAIT: Kuwait’s constitutional court on Sunday nullified the 2022 parliamentary elections and ruled to reinstate the previous parliament, state media reported, as a political crisis exasperates the oil-rich Gulf state.
The September elections — the most inclusive in a decade — had seen opposition members secure 28 out of 50 seats, giving them a majority in the parliament.
The polls marked a victory for opposition leaders, many of whom had stayed out of the election process in the past decade over what they saw as alleged interference by the executive authorities over parliament.
“The Constitutional Court of Kuwait issued a verdict on Sunday annulling the results of the last year’s National Assembly elections” due to discrepancies in the decree to dissolve the previous parliament, the official KUNA news agency reported.
KUNA said the court also ruled to reinstate the elected parliament in 2020 but dissolved it following orders by the crown prince in June.
Repeated political crisis in Kuwait
Lawyer Nawaf Al-Yassin said the verdict followed several electoral appeals.
“The appeals relate to the inconsistency of the electoral process, the decrees calling for polls, and the decree dissolving the earlier National Assembly,” he said.
Kuwait is the only Gulf Arab state with an independently elected parliament. Among the world’s biggest oil exporters, Kuwait adopted a parliamentary system in 1962.
However, repeated political crises have led to state paralysis and regular disputes with the cabinet.
In January, the government of Kuwait resigned only three months after being sworn in due to disputes with legislatures, the sixth government in only three years.
