KUWAIT: Third constituency candidate Abdulkareem Al-Kandari speaks to Kuwait Times. —Photo by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: MP Abdul Kareem Al-Kandari yesterday submitted his financial disclosure statement to the Public Anti-Corruption Authority, becoming the first lawmaker to do so. Accordingly, the authority reminded other lawmakers that they had to submit their statements within 60 days after the declaration of parliamentary election results.

In the meantime, MP Yousef Al-Fadhalah urged the government to perform differently and show more cooperation with the parliament, starting with the inaugural session when the speaker, deputy speaker and committee members are elected. "I urge the government to refrain from voting in these elections to show its good intentions," he underlined, noting that the government has the right to take part in the voting but added it is not a must.

Cautious optimism

Separately, the Kuwait Democratic Forum (KDF) said that the recent elections created a state of cautious optimism that calls for selecting a suitable Cabinet accordingly. In a press release it issued yesterday, KDF stressed that the elections led to considerable change of up to 60 percent in the new parliament formation, and this calls for the government to meticulously review the results and accordingly appoint a Cabinet suitable for this particular phase, especially when a large number of young lawmakers who are more capable of effecting socioeconomic reforms won the elections.

KDF also called to show national solidarity and political stability by cancelling and amending a number of laws that undermine liberties. Furthermore, KDF stressed that the top public priorities now include issuing a general amnesty to free all prisoners of conscience, cancelling the political isolation law, passing a law to protect citizenship and prevent withdrawing them except through court orders related to forgery, and amending and developing the current electoral system to adopt the relative electoral list system in order to achieve justice amongst various electoral constituencies and prevent by-elections and vote-buying.

In addition, KDF also called for holding a national conference with the participation of all blocs without alienating any in order to jointly discuss various views on political, social, economic and educational reforms.

Challenge

Meanwhile, A candidate who lost in the elections yesterday filed a strange complaint contesting the results. He wondered how he did not get any vote - not even his own. "I did vote for myself!" he exclaimed. In the meantime, a number of Mutairi tribe diwans urged all the tribe's candidates in the fourth constituency to file complaints contesting the election results.

Separately, a court yesterday sustained a previous ruling sentencing a blogger known as 'Chabreet Seyassi' (Political Matches) to 10 years in prison and acquitting lawyer Falah Al-Hajraf and Bader Abdul Aziz, who had all been accused in a state security case.

Also yesterday, a lawyer day filed a state security case against a poetess accusing her of posting a tweet in which she insulted and denigrated the followers of a doctrine, which undermines national solidarity. The poetess is expected to be summoned for further investigations.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi