Reuters/AFP/Kuwait
Kuwait warned yesterday that it would not allow any unlicensed protest marches over a court ruling tomorrow which will say whether a new electoral system introduced by the emir is constitutional.
Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah used emergency powers in October last year to change voting rules, six weeks before the country was due to hold parliamentary elections.
Opposition politicians boycotted the poll, and on the eve of the election tens of thousands of Kuwaitis marched in protest against the decree.
“Whatever the decision of the constitutional court, we will never allow any rallies or marches outside Erada Square,” a statement from the interior ministry said, referring to a designated protest area opposite parliament.
Any protesters who break the law will be dealt with “firmly”, the statement on state news agency Kuna said.
The government said the new system, which cut the number of votes per person to one from four, brought Kuwait in line with other countries. But opposition politicians said the decree was an attempt to stop them from forming a majority or bloc in parliament.
Political parties are banned in Kuwait and the four-vote system helped opposition MPs form alliances in elections and gave them more clout in parliament.
Activists have called for protests if the court rules in favour of the changes.
If the court rules in favour of the decree “it would allow the government to amend the electoral law at any time”, said Ahmed al-Saadoun, a veteran opposition politician and former parliament speaker.
He said the opposition would boycott any elections under the one-vote-per-person system.
The clause at stake in tomorrow’s ruling gives the emir powers to issue legislation when necessary and in emergency situations such as when parliament is either not in session or has been dissolved. The current 50-seat parliament is entirely composed of government loyalists.
The verdict could restrict the emir’s authority in issuing legislation and lead to parliament being dissolved for the second time in a year.
Independent lawyer Hussein al-Abdullah told AFP the five-judge constitutional court could issue one of four possible verdicts.
“It may decide that ruling on emergency decrees issued by the emir is beyond the court’s jurisdiction, which means the amendment of the electoral law will be confirmed, though indirectly,” he said.
“The second possibility is that the court may nullify the amendment decree which means scrapping parliament and holding a fresh election on the basis of the old electoral law” of 2006, Abdullah said.
“Under this scenario, the court will effectively rationalise the head of state’s powers to issue legislation in the absence of parliament.”
The third possibility is that the court could uphold the decree and maintain the status quo.
And fourth, it could order parliament dissolved over “procedural flaws” but keep the controversial amendment intact.
Independent political analyst Dahem al-Qahtani said if the court confirms the decree, the political crisis in the emirate will intensify and there will be demands for a new constitution.