KUWAIT CITY, Sept 17: The Constitutional Court Wednesday annulled the membership of two MPs who were elected to the Parliament in May 2008 because of discrepancies in vote count and replaced them with the runners-up who had challenged the results. The court ruled in favor of challenges by Askar Owayed Al-Enezi and Saadoun Hammad Al-Otaibi against Mubarak Mohammed Al-Walaan and Abdullah Medhi Al-Ajmi. After the verdict was issued, MP Otaibi told the Arab Times he had put all his trust in the Kuwaiti judiciary. He also said he was sure of winning the seat. “Since the beginning of the case, I was sure I polled 10,914 votes and held the eighth position in the Fifth Constituency,” said Otaibi. He added he had submitted to the court all the documents to prove he was the winner.

MP Askar Al-Enezi told the Arab Times he is grateful to God and for the Kuwaiti judiciary for this great victory. He added he fought for four months until he won back his rights. He was standing from the 4th Constituency. “We are all here at the request of this nation, whether at the National Assembly, the Municipal Council or any place in the State of Kuwait,” said Al-Enezi. Constitutional expert attorney Dr Mohammed Al-Muqate, who represented Al-Enezi in court, told the Arab Times this verdict is final. He added his client became Member of Parliament the moment the verdict was issued.

“The National Assembly must soon hold an immediate special session to notify the MPs about the court s verdict,” said Muqate, and added, “The two “new” MPs must join the parliament and two “former” MPs must vacate their places.”

The decision of the Constitutional Court with regards to the disqualification to the two MPs is final and cannot be contested, says another Constitutional expert. Speaking to the Arab Times, Labeed Abdal said that the two disqualified MPs will be asked to step down with immediate effect and that the Speaker of the Parliament will hold a special session to conduct a swearing in ceremony for the two newly-declared winners. “This not something unprecedented in the history of Kuwait and we have had many such cases wherein lost candidates have been declared winners following a recount ordered by the Constitutional Court.” “The two winners cannot assume their roles unless they are sworn in and this expected to happen soon.”

He said that if any candidate wishes to contest the elections results, then he has to do within a certain time-frame and that normally it takes about 3-4 months for the Constitutional Court to issue a verdict in cases involving recount.  Refuting speculation that the verdict will have a negative impact on the electoral process as a whole, Al-Otaibi pointed out “contrary to these allegations, I believe the ruling has rectified an actual error.”  He also underscored the need to amend the Elections Law, regulate electoral procedures, and appoint an independent judge who will stay in the committee for 24 hours to oversee the counting process.  He said female representatives should work only until 8:00 pm and they will be replaced by men to continue the counting of votes. 

Al-Otaibi affirmed he will take his oath as MP on Oct 21, unless an emergency session is held for this purpose prior to the opening of the next legislative round. On the other hand, MP Mohammed Hayef Al-Mutairi emphasized the need for accuracy in the electoral process to avoid the recurrence of mistakes that can be exploited in the future. “If this is a human error, the authorities should verify it to identify the causes, since it involves a very sensitive issue that led to the disqualification of MPs Mubarak Mohammed Al-Waalan and Abdullah Medhi Al-Ajmi, who were replaced by Al-Otaibi and Askar Owayed Al-Enezi.  This is the first time in the history of the National Assembly, which might prompt the public to doubt the judicial system,” Al-Mutairi argued.  He also underlined the importance of carefully analyzing the issue and identify reasons behind the error to bring the public s trust back to Kuwait s  judicial system.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the National Assembly Allam Al-Kandari commended the decision of the Constitutional Court, indicating this is normal and similar to what happened in the previous elections under the 25 constituency system between former MP Khalid Al-Adwa and Al-Otaibi, but this time the period was longer and the issue has affected both parties.  Expressing his willingness to support calls for the amendment of vote counting procedures, Al-Kandari admitted there were flaws found in the existing vote count mechanism, hence, the need for a new system to protect the rights of all candidates.  He clarified Al-Enezi and Al-Otaibi are not official members of the Parliament until they take their oath on Oct 21 or earlier if an agreement is reached to hold an emergency session for this purpose. In the meantime, Al-Enezi applauded the Constitutional Court for ruling in his favor and declaring him a winner in the Fourth Constituency, replacing Al-Walaan. He also reiterated his trust in the integrity and tr
ansparency of Kuwaiti courts.

Moreover, Speaker of the Parliament Jassem AL-Khorafi welcomed Al-Enezi and Al-Otaibi to the National Assembly and expressed his appreciation for the court s efforts to reach a final decision on the issue. Representing the Fourth Constituency, Al-Enezi vowed to do his best to live up to the expectations and wishes of his voters. He reiterated that he would work hard to implement his platform and election promises regarding bedoun (stateless people), housing, unemployment, Kuwaiti women s rights and education. The new member of parliament stressed the importance of cooperation between both legislative and executive authorities for the sake of the nation and citizens.

By Francis A. Clifford Cardozo, Dahlia Kholaif, Abubakar A. Ibrahim and Moamen Al-Masri

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