Voters urged to bring ‘original’ citizenship card on polling day – Municipality removes 61 illegal poll ads

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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 24, (KUNA): Kuwaiti voters, who will flock to polling stations next Saturday for the 2016 parliamentary elections, are requested to bring their original citizenship cards to be stamped by the judge according to the law in this regard. Every Kuwaiti who has lost his or her citizenship card can obtain a temporary one for a single day use on the polling day.

The Interior Ministry has completed all its administrative and security preparations ahead of the upcoming elections slated for Nov 26. Security officers of the polling stations are expected to transfer the ballot boxes to the electoral committee headquarters and hand them to the heads of committees. Meanwhile, a day ahead of the National Assembly (Parliament) elections, for the 15th Legislative Term, due on Saturday, November 26, election silence takes effect in Kuwait as of Friday.

The law provides that the media, even electronic media, is not allowed to practice any activities regarding the candidates’ electoral campaigns. Nominees themselves will have to bring their campaigning to a complete halt. Pre-election silence aims to give voters a chance to carefully consider their choice for the election day.

The media can only offer messages to educate the voters on elections, or urge them to positively take part in the vote. According to the Ministry of Information’s relevant decree, broadcasting, re-broadcasting or publishing any interviews, programs or reports with candidates for the National Assembly elections or the Municipal Council, is prohibited on the polling day, and the day before it. The National Assembly was dissolved by an Amiri Decree on Oct 16. In the meantime, no effort will be spared to depict a favorable and democratic image of Kuwait through extensive coverage of parliamentary elections due Saturday, Director General of the Kuwait Municipality Ahmad Al-Manfouhi said on Thursday.

In a statement, Al-Manfouhi, who also heads a joint Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Municipal committee dealing with the 2016 parliamentary elections, noted that thorough and neutral coverage of the vote will be instrumental in showcasing a civil and democratic image of Kuwait. In addition, Al-Manfouhi spoke of precautions taken by the MoI, including strategies to ensure food safety, adding that some 5,953 illicit advertisements have been removed.

He also underscored the continuous cooperation between the MoI and the Municipality to make sure that all procedures are in place. He lauded the committee’s work for enforcing the rule of law, saying that he is optimistic that a true democratic spectacle will unfold on Saturday. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Interior, Justice and Education, in addition to municipal officials. The Kuwait Municipality has removed 61 illegal electoral ads from the streets of the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate over the past two days, it said on Wednesday.

The monitoring bodies of the governorate’s municipality department have taken away all the unlicensed electoral ads of candidates standing for the 2016 National Assembly (Parliament) elections that are slated for Saturday, Nov 26, Mubarak Al-Kabeer’s public relations section added in a brief statement.

The Kuwait Municipality earlier said that it had taken away 548 of such illegal ads in Al Farwaniyah Governorate since the elections campaigns kicked off up to Wednesday. It urged the candidates to abide by the municipality’s relevant laws to secure a smooth electoral process, with no obstacles or violations.

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