State News: Kuwait Court Cancels 2022 Legislative Election

In its ruling, the court cited “discrepancies” in the 2020 decree dissolving parliament for its decision.

Authorities did not immediately explain what this meant for the Kuwaiti parliament. Kuwait has the freest and most active assembly among the Gulf Arab states, but political power is still largely concentrated in the hands of the ruling Al Sabah family, which appoints the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, and can dissolve the assembly at any time.

In September, voters sent conservative Islamist figures and two women to the assembly in the second election in less than two years. The election results were seen as a mandate for change amid a long period of deadlock between the Cabinet and the 50-member assembly.

Kuwait’s Islamist opposition accuses the government of corruption and mismanagement, frequently questioning ministers about their involvement in the misappropriation of public funds.

The wrangling prevented the assembly from passing fundamental economic reforms, including a public debt law that would allow the government to borrow money, leading to the depletion of its general reserve fund despite its vast oil wealth. .

Kuwait, which borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq, has the sixth largest known oil reserves in the world and is home to some 13,500 US troops.