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Kuwaiti cabinet calls for elections on July 25 | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Kuwaiti Shiite MP Ahmed Lari leaves the national assembly in Kuwait City on June 16, 2013. (AFP/Yasser Al-Zayyat)


Kuwaiti Shiite MP Ahmed Lari leaves the national assembly in Kuwait City on June 16, 2013. (AFP/Yasser Al-Zayyat)

Kuwaiti Shi’ite MP Ahmed Lari leaves the national assembly in Kuwait City on June 16, 2013. (AFP/Yasser Al-Zayyat)

Kuwait City, Asharq Al-Awsat—Kuwait will hold parliamentary elections on July 25, the cabinet decided in an emergency meeting yesterday following the country’s Supreme Court’s order to dissolve parliament last week. The forthcoming elections will be the sixth parliamentary elections since 2006.

Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Al-Mubarak, the minister of state for cabinet affairs, emphasized that the cabinet’s decision to hold the parliamentary elections on July 25 is part of the implementation of this Supreme Court decision.

The cabinet asked the ministerial committee for legal affairs to follow the procedures for executing the Supreme Court’s ruling, the minister added.

“At an extraordinary meeting, the cabinet approved a draft decree setting July 25 as the date for parliamentary elections,” the mister told Kuwait’s official news agency, KUNA, yesterday.

The cabinet decided to hold the parliamentary elections on July 25 in order to meet the 60-day limit set out in the constitution, Asharq Al-Awsat learned.

According to Article 107 of the Kuwaiti constitution, “The Emir may dissolve the National Assembly by a decree in which the reasons for dissolution is indicated. However, dissolution of the Assembly may not be repeated for the same reasons. In the event of dissolution, elections for the new Assembly are held within a period not exceeding two months from the date of dissolution. If the elections are not held within the said period, the dissolved Assembly is restored to its full constitutional authority and meets immediately as if the dissolution had not taken place. The Assembly then continues to function until the new Assembly is elected.”

Kuwaiti sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that some sides would have preferred for the elections to be delayed until September or October, given that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is expected to start in early July, and it will be followed by Eid Al-Fitr celebrations. However, the cabinet ultimately took the decision to comply with the 60-day deadline set out in the constitution.

Kuwaitis will be able to vote on July 25 between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm local time.

For the second time in less than a year, the Supreme Court of Kuwait ordered the dissolution of parliament on Sunday. This parliament had been elected in December 2012, following the dissolution of the previous parliament, which was elected on February 25, 2012.