Authorities will allow a protest march to go ahead the day before Saturday’s parliamentary election in Kuwait, the prime minister said in a move designed to ease tensions ahead of the poll.
Thousands of people have staged regular demonstrations since late last month against a decree issued by Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah, which reduced the number of votes allowed per citizen to one from four.
The opposition movement, which includes youth groups and former members of parliament, has called for a boycott of the election in the US-allied major oil producer over the changes.
They say the amendments are an attempt to skew the elections in favor of pro-government candidates. Protesters say they seek reform, not an Arab Spring-style revolution like those that have ousted several Arab rulers since early last year.
The emir says the voting system is flawed and that the changes are constitutional and needed for “security and stability.”
“The organizers got a license from the concerned security services, so the government had nothing against the march,” state news agency KUNA reported Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak Al Sabah as saying late on Monday.
Kuwait allows the most dissent among the Gulf Arab states and its citizens often hold rallies in a designated area outside parliament.
However, recent unlicensed protest marches in the streets beyond have been broken up by police using teargas and smoke bombs.
Authorities are keen to prevent the kind of unrest Kuwait experienced on Oct. 21, when thousands of demonstrators attempted to reach government headquarters in the largest protest march and were dispersed by police. At least 29 people were injured during that march, a medical source said.
Under the new rules, each voter chooses only one candidate instead of four, a move the parliamentary opposition says will prevent its candidates winning the majority they had in the last election. They say the four-vote system better enabled candidates to form political allegiances during the election campaign by recommending supporters cast additional ballots for their allies. Such allegiances are important because Kuwait bans political parties, opposition politicians say.
Apart from protesting against the new voting rules, activists have rallied against wider issues such as corruption, the accountability of government ministers and elected officials, as well as a lack of infrastructure development.
A long-running row between the government and parliament has stalled implementation of major parts of a 30 billion dinar (US$107 billion) development plan, including large infrastructure projects.
The poll will be the fifth since mid-2006.
“The coming government will include decisionmakers and bold politicians to scale up the combat against corruption,” KUNA quoted Sheikh Jaber as saying.
The Kuwaiti parliament has legislative powers and the right to summon ministers for questioning, but the emir has the final say in state affairs and can veto laws and dissolve the assembly.
Opposition lawmakers — whose demands have included an elected Cabinet and prime minister — held about 35 seats in the 50-seat parliament elected in February.
The opposition bloc put pressure on government ministers, leading to the resignation of two. The parliament was dissolved by a court ruling in June.
Sheikh Jaber said the last parliament “failed to encourage the government to adopt positive steps ... contrary to the spirit of the constitution which favors cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities,” KUNA reported.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese