MP Waleed Al-TabtabaeiTabtabai

KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouk Al-Ghanem said yesterday the Assembly term will wind up today after debating the state budget and several other issues. He said that the Amiri decree to close the Assembly term has been signed and that lawmakers will be hosted at dinner by HH the Amir. Ghanem's statements came after the National Assembly failed to hold yesterday's session due to a lack of quorum amid accusations by opposition MP Waleed Al-Tabtabai that the issue was deliberate to prevent debating a motion to reduce the price of petrol.

Tabtabai said that he and a number of lawmakers reject ending the Assembly term today before debating two motions calling to reduce the price of petrol by scrapping the latest hike and another calling to scrap interest on loans to pensioners from the social security agency. He said that it will be disappointing if the National Assembly ends its term without discussing those important issues. The lawmaker charged that the government and some MPs have collaborated to prevent holding yesterday's session to prevent debating important popular issues.

He charged that some people want the national assembly to become a vehicle for approving the budgets only as they don't want to debate important issues. Tabtabai said that so far seven MPs will oppose closing the assembly term today. He demanded that the lost session be compensated and the closing session be moved to next week.

The lawmaker threatened to grill the Prime Minister after the three-month summer recess if he does not deal with issues like the Eurofighter warplanes deal, the petrol and electricity price hikes and operating Sheikh Jaber hospital and the new university.

By B Izzak