By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Opposition candidate Saud Al-Asfour, running from the Fifth Constituency, yesterday highly praised the "historical" speech of the Amir delivered on his behalf by Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on June 22, and described the speech as a "major development in the relations between the ruling family and the constitution".

He said the speech and its implications have positively changed the political environment in the country. Asfour however said the next Assembly must shoulder the responsibility of accountability and should open all the previous corruption cases. "The country will not develop without seriously fighting corruption," he said. He also said that the next Assembly must be thoroughly cleaned and warned that corrupt MPs are more serious than corrupt ministers.

"The real battle for the Kuwaiti people is the battle against all corrupt people," he said. "The Kuwait we admire is the one where people will not be jailed for saying a word, will not be forced to immigrate for expressing opinion and their citizenship will not be under threat for taking a stance," Asfour said.

Candidate Mohammad Musaed Al-Dossari meanwhile called on the government to treat thousands of stateless people or bedoons like "humans". "We should deal with the bedoons like humans before we use the law ... Every human has the right to have an identity and enjoy good education, medical care and housing," Dossari said.

"We have been dealing with bedoons in a horrible way. We have not given them any right, they are deprived of jobs and barred from leaving the country for those who want" because they have no passports, he said. Dossari warned that the issue of bedoons, estimated at around 120,000, is a time-bomb which will explode if left unresolved.

On another issue, Dossari said he will work to amend the election law if he wins a seat in the assembly in order to achieve equality among Kuwaiti voters, adding that the distribution of voters is unfair. In the meantime, the administrative court yesterday set next Sunday to issue its verdict on some 15 candidates who had been disqualified and barred from running in polls by the interior ministry.