New Legislative Term Begins With Old Script

At the tail-end of a tumultuous year scarred by a global pandemic, Kuwait went to the polls on 5 December. Amid calls resonating for reforms, and voters determined to express their angst against persisting corruption and sustained economic woes, the expectations were that change was in the air.

The morning after elections Kuwait did get change, as many new lawmakers made their way into parliament, while several incumbents failed to return. But, the change comes with caveats that belie people’s expectations — many of the new faces are most likely to pursue old policies that in the past have hindered political economic and social reforms that the country urgently needs and yearns for.

Results announced on 6 December show that although 44 of the 50 incumbent lawmakers contested the election, only 19 of them made it back to parliament. At first glance, the entry of 31 new faces could be seen as heralding a change in direction for the National Assembly. But on looking deeper, it becomes obvious that several of the ‘new-entrants’ are MPs who have been through the doors of parliament before, but had boycotted recent elections over opposition to the electoral laws introduced in 2012. Despite that law remaining unchanged, they have now decided to end their boycott and re-enter parliament while bringing along many of their obstructionist policies and views that hobbled parliament in the past.

Lawmakers generally opposed to the government’s policies have also staged a strong come-back in the elections. Parliament now appears dominated by Islamists and tribal representatives who generally constitute the so-called opposition bloc in the National Assembly. Kuwait’s election law does not recognize political parties, and candidates run on individual tickets; nevertheless, many groups operate as de facto parties and following elections align to form opposition voting blocs in parliament.

Nearly 24 of the new lawmakers in the 50-seat National Assembly are believed to be candidates belonging to, or inclined towards, the opposition bloc. The question is, would this shift bring about any drastic changes to the country’s political or economic policies. Again, this is doubtful; there were around 16 to 24 opposition figures in the previous assembly — depending on how you count their voting pattern over bills and parliamentary proceedings. And, this opposition number did not prove to be more accountable or responsive to the main concerns of the public, nor were they capable of bringing about any radical shift in government course.

Also, with nearly 60 percent of MPs in the new parliament below the age of 45, the country’s youth who form the largest age-cohort in Kuwait’s population could be forgiven for holding the hope that change was imminent. While youth dominated parliaments are a rarity in the Arab world, where the average age of parliamentarians is around 55, youthfulness alone has not led to innovative changes to policies or plans in parliament. Moreover, many among the youthful lawmakers who made it through the doors of parliament were voted in by constituents who are staunchly traditional in their views and mostly favor maintaining status-quo on social, economic or political issues.

Another highlight from the poll-results is an all-male new parliament. Though a record 29 women were in the final fray aiming to win a seat, none of them proved successful. Male dominated parliaments have been the norm throughout Kuwait’s parliamentary life. It was only in 2005 that women won the right to vote and stand in elections to the National Assembly. Nevertheless, this is the first-time since 2012 that there would be no women in the House to represent half the voter base of the country. The lone woman-lawmaker in the previous parliament was among the sitting-MPs who lost her seat.

For its part, the government — in response to the election result and the known political stance of many leading opposition figures who have now made it to the National Assembly — is reportedly gearing up to confront what is expected to be yet another contentious legislative term of parliament. This assessment of the situation among the country’s leadership, and the consequent hardline response being planned, is evident in the lineup of the new Cabinet that was announced on 14 December.

On Monday, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah after taking his oath of office as Prime Minister, presented his new 15-member Cabinet to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. In his address to the new ministers, His Highness the Amir noted that the people of Kuwait have placed high hopes on the new government to fulfil their aspired objectives. He called on the ministers to deal with the challenges and tasks ahead through extraordinary efforts and diligent work in coordination with the parliament. The exhortation for the executive to work in coordination with the legislative has most often proven to be the major stumbling block throughout the country’s parliamentary life.

In anticipation of the combativeness expected on the floor of parliament, the newly appointed 15-member Cabinet includes veteran ministers and new faces carefully curated for the specific strengths they could bring in thwarting opposition moves in the National Assembly. Five ministers from the outgoing cabinet have been retained for their past performance, while others from previous governments have been roped-in based on their track record of not wilting under opposition pressure.
The new faces inducted into the executive have also been selected for their unique political influence and strength among Kuwait’s diverse electorates. While the number of women ministers went down from two to one, this has been attributed to the similar lack of female representation in the current National Assembly.

The ministerial lineup is intended to convey the assertive and proactive stance of the government. For instance, the appointment of new Minister of Finance Khalifa Musa’ad Hamada, a veteran high level official at the finance ministry, has been designed to reassure markets and the public that the government is on top of the ongoing fiscal crisis, and will continue to pursue the debt bill to get it ratified through parliament. On the other hand, the Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs, Mubarak Salem Al Harees has been retained in his same post for his deft handling of contentious issues on the floor of parliament in the previous government, as well as his influence among tribal lawmakers, especially among the seven members of his own tribe who made it into parliament.

In a bid to buttress the government further, and following recent changes in the country’s top leadership, internal family squabbles — which have undermined cohesion within the royal family, and in the past have often played out on the floor of parliament — have been reconciled. The important posts of defense and interior ministers have been apportioned to members of the hitherto estranged branch of Al-Sabah family. The post of deputy prime minister has also been deliberately left vacant, leaving open the scope of bringing in a more senior family member for that post later on, based on how things progress in parliament.

On Tuesday, while inaugurating the 16th legislative term of parliament, His Highness the Amir urged MPs to honor the aspirations of the people “who placed a huge burden upon their shoulders” for the sake of achieving development. Calling for active cooperation between the executive and legislative to achieve common benefits, His Highness the Amir said parliament members should “work as one team, shoulder-to-shoulder” in order to have a prosperous and secured nation.

However, even before the first legislative session commenced, fiery rhetoric had emerged from opposition lawmakers, with demands for changes to the electoral law, a solution to the beidoun problem, end to corruption, more liberal economic policies and financial handouts for citizens, as well as amnesty for the many opposition figures either debarred from parliament or in jail. These are the same issues that had proven contentious in previous parliaments, and they are now likely to replay during the current legislative term, with probably the same end results.

The government for its part has already made clear that it would not concede to these demands and underscored this assertiveness through the appointment of Dr. Nawaf Saud Al-Yassin as the new justice minister. The appointment of Al-Yassin is seen as a controversial choice, as he has in the past opposed a draft bill presented by the opposition for solving the beidoun issues. In another snub to the opposition, the government also cast its vote in election to the post of Parliament Speaker for the incumbent Speaker Marzouq Al Ghanem, deterring the attempt by the opposition’s candidate Bader Al Humaidi.

With the two branches of government reportedly readying for potential confrontation on the floor of parliament, the unity and cohesion of purpose between the executive and legislative urged by His Highness the Amir, appears to have vaporized. Though both sides have trumpeted their support for change, what the country could get in the coming days is, at best, more of the same. Any hopes of cooperation and coordination between the two sides, needed to push forward progress, revive growth and ensure development of the country are once again likely to take a back seat in the 16th legislative term. Many feel that the initial euphoria of change in the air that voters had, could very well remain only in the air.

 

SOURCE: TIMESKUWAIT

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