We are proceeding ‘unmethodical’: There is a lack of proper decisions

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WITHOUT a doubt, the country is facing a new crisis – the first of its kind, as the government has never been aborted this quickly.

Here, instead of falling under the pressure of time, it is necessary to take time to choose, ask for the opinions of others, and most importantly, to read the election outcomes well in order for the team assisting HH the Prime Minister to be popular before the parliamentary approval process.

Also, the constitutional two-week grace period to announce a new Cabinet following the parliamentary election and to announce as well the start of the parliamentary session should not be like a rope around the neck of the government.  Even if this grace period is considered ‘much ado about nothing’; it remains binding unless articles 85, 86 and 87 of the Constitution are amended, in addition to the internal regulations.  This must be taken into consideration during the next session for the government to have ample time and to allow the MPs to put their papers in order.

Apart from these constitutional formalities, the announced government is facing a complicated situation.  It would have been more useful to evaluate the files of all candidates, as the case in a good number of countries.

In some countries, there are specialized centers that report directly to the head of State, whose task is to scrutinize the files of candidates for senior positions – starting with ministers, then the undersecretaries, assistant undersecretaries and officials of sensitive security services.  In this manner, none of them is subjected to suspicion of the public or members of the legislative authority.  This could prevent a vote of no-confidence against this and that minister or reactivation of the blackmailing process in appointments.

In some democratic countries, including the United States of America; even ambassadors are subject to screening in the House of Representatives.  If the person is found unsuitable for the post, his candidacy is rejected.

Unfortunately in Kuwait, we adopted the form of democracy and left out its content; so it is going ‘unmethodically’.  This is a great calamity, because the selection of ministers is sometimes made according to the candidate’s closeness to the prime minister or this executive and that official.

No wonder, most governments have fallen into a series of traps made by the conflict between them and the National Assembly.

We say it again, the election results are supposed to be read well.  The outcome was solid as Kuwaitis chose those who could truly represent them; hence, the results have boundless indications regarding cooperation between the two authorities and extricating the country from the consequences of the past stage, especially with regard to development and modernizing laws.

But, for the government to be born this way, it is a setback that requires reassessment of the situation as a whole.

It is true that the nominated minister has the right to take any position he deems appropriate, but he does not have the right to demand to know the names of the rest of the ministers, because this is a form of imposition.

Today, we are in front of the wisdom of the great man who delivered the Amiri speech, in which the broad lines of the path of the two authorities – legislative and executive – were laid out; particularly the country’s needs, how to address perennial problems, and the need to find balance in the appointment of officials, so we do not fall into stagnation again.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

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