KUWAIT CITY, Jan 16: The case of candidature of Dr Faisal Al-Muslim who is contesting the elections from the Third Constituency is back to what political observers say square one.
The Urgent Cases Court has ruled null and void the decision which was issued by the Ministry of Interior disqualifying Al-Muslim from contesting the elections and adjourned the hearing to April 30, 2012.
The same court suspended the execution of decision concerning the disqualification of another candidate from the same constituency Mohammed Al-Juwaihal.
However, reliable sources said the Ministry of Interior will ask for the suspension of the two rulings through the Department of Fatwa and Legislation.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, Minister of Defence Sheikh Ahmed Al-Hmoud affirmed his utmost regard for the judicial ruling.
He revealed that he has mandated the concerned authority to take necessary steps towards the execution of the verdict reiterating total confidence in the judicial system.
He said the Interior Ministry is determined to abide by all the constitutional provisions without exception. He informed that the decision of the ministry to disqualify some candidates was based on the need to be fair, objective and neutral in the criteria laid down for all candidates.
The minister said the committee which is in charge of verifying the applications of candidates has taken decisions amid necessary recommendations after going through relevant documents submitted by the candidates with utmost objective and transparency.
According to a reliable judicial source the verdict which was issued after a marathon session presided by Judge Nasser Al-Athari was at a preliminary level.
The source added there is still room for appeal at the Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation which means the re-run of elections can be ordered in the Third Constituency particularly since there are a series of appeals against judicial rulings.
He added that in case Al-Muslim wins the election, and the final ruling favors his disqualification it means there will be a re-run of the election to choose a new MP in his place.
However, a legal expert Dr Mohammed Al-Fili has affirmed the government can still appeal the ruling to ensure disqualification of Al-Muslim declaring that the judge will not be compelled to deliver verdict urgently as in the case of the lawsuit filed by Al-Faisal.
The Administrative Court — during proceedings of the case — has concluded that the revelation of banking secrets is not a criminal offence that affects the honor or trust of a person.
Meanwhile, Al-Muslim received a big applause last night at the Erada Square where former opposition MPs, candidates, political and youth activists held a public rally organized by the ‘Nahaj’ movement to express their rejection of the Interior Ministry decision disqualifying Al-Faisal from running in the February 2012 parliamentary elections following his conviction by the Criminal Court in the widely-publicized Burgan Bank cheque case.
The applause was a sign of jubilation to the Administrative Court’s ruling which cancelled the Interior Ministry decision to disqualify Al-Muslim from the polls.
Former MP Falah Al-Sawagh thanked the Kuwaitis who stand by people like Faisal Al-Muslim to defend the Constitution. He added “We will never back down from defending the Constitution and tracking down the corrupt people.”
He appealed to former MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabaei to rescind his decision of withdrawing from contesting the next parliamentary election since Al-Muslim has now been acquitted.
He praised Al-Muslim for defending the Constitution and getting rid of the corrupt elements from government institutions.
Former MP Mohammed Hayef stressed the country has now reached the most dangerous phase because the vote-buying phenomenon will surely send many corrupt candidates to the Parliament.
He added Al-Muslim was the first to complain about bribe-taking in the Parliament and his reward was disqualification from contesting in the polls while those who took bribes were left untouched and free to come back into the Parliament.
He stressed that Faisal Muslim did not commit any crime, but only complained about a crime and was indicted for that and those who committed the crime were left alone. He added, “We must know that anyone who complains about corruption will meet the same fate like Al-Muslim.”
He supported his colleagues who demanded the former Prime Minister be indicted by the Ministers Court on corruption charges.
Former MP Khalid Tahous stressed the need to implement Article (50) of the Constitution which talked about separation of powers among the three authorities — the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature — “because it has become obvious that the government is interfering in the affairs of the judicial authority.”
He called on MPs to make it their top priority to fight for autonomy of the Judiciary in the next Parliament to avoid the interference, adding “any government which does not respect the Constitution is not recognized by us.”
He doubted circumstances surrounding disqualification of Faisal Muslim from the election race, which was originally taken by the Interior Ministry, stressing the decision is wrong and that Al-Muslim will surely come back to fight corruption in the Parliament.
Fourth Constituency candidate Dr Obaid Al-Wasmi said it’s wrong to send any MP to court for performing his duty. He said the act violates articles 108 and 110 of the Constitution.
He also rejects interference in the activities of any authority because that violates article 50 of the Constitution, stressing that Kuwaitis will never accept constitutional violations.
Third Constituency candidate Ahmed Al-Shuraian congratulated Al-Muslim for coming to the field, and called on the Interior Minister to apologize to Al-Muslim for omitting from the election race. He hopes that the next Parliament will include good members.
In another development, four candidates on Monday withdrew from running in the 2012 parliamentary election, shrinking the number of parliamentary hopefuls to 340, including 24 women.
The withdrawn candidates are Faleh Khalid Al-Enezi from the Second Constituency, and Bader Mubarak Al-Baidan, Abdullah Rashid Al-Fajji and Owaid Mohammed Al-Rashidi from the Fourth Constituency.
Meanwhile, Third Constituency candidate and former MP Saadoun Hammad Al-Otaibi has rescinded his decision to withdraw from the elections. This came after the court verdict which reinstated the candidacy of Faisal Al-Muslim. It is noteworthy that Faisal Al-Muslim and Hammad are from Al-Otaibi tribe.
Agencies add:
About 30 international observers will for the first time be allowed to monitor Kuwait’s parliamentary election on Feb 2, the head of a non-governmental organisation said on Monday.
Most of the observers will be Arabs from the Arab Network for Election Democracy but contacts are underway with some non-Arab organisations to send monitors, Salah Al-Ghazali told a press conference.
The foreign monitors will assist 300 local volunteers who have been allowed to monitor the election, also for the first time in an official capacity, said the head of the Kuwaiti Transparency Society.
In previous elections, independent groups and organisations sent monitors to polling stations on their own without coordination with the government.
The foreign and local monitors will be allowed free access to polling stations and report any violations to the authorities, Ghazali said.
The Kuwaiti government last month asked the Kuwaiti Transparency Society and two other NGOs to monitor the parliamentary election before and during the casting of votes.
Ghazali said 300 people have volunteered to become monitors and undergone training.
The Kuwaiti ruler dissolved parliament in December after accepting the government’s resignation and appointing a new prime minister following a bitter dispute between the previous government and MPs.
More than 300 candidates, including about 20 women, have registered to contest the election for the 50-seat Parliament.