‘No-confidence’ showdown today at Assembly session

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KUWAIT CITY, Feb 15: The National Assembly will hold a special session, Wednesday, to vote on a no-confidence motion against the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah. Last Tuesday, after discussing the grilling motion filed by MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri against the minister, the National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim announced that 10 MPs submitted a no-confidence motion against the concerned minister.

According to Article 101 of the Kuwaiti constitution, “if the parliament decides to vote with the no-confidence motion against the minister, he is considered retired from duties immediately.” The no-confidence motion requires the approval of the majority of the Parliament members, and the ministers are not included in the voting process. Yesterday, the government renewed backing for the foreign minister after reviewing the National Assembly affairs and developments related to the no-confidence motion.

Al-Ghanim adjourned the special session slated for Tuesday to discuss and vote on the report of the Interior and Defense Affairs Committee about the proposed amendment of National Assembly Elections Law No. 35/1962 due to the lack of quorum as the government did not attend the session. Commenting on the absence of the government, MP Hamdan Al-Azmi said the government does not respect the Assembly and attends sessions according to its whims. He called on his colleagues to respond accordingly, pointing out that some MPs won the last election because of their commitment to amend the above mentioned law in order to cancel the previous revision; which prohibits those convicted of offending the Heavenly Entity, Prophets (Peace be Upon Them) and the Amiri Entity from contesting the parliamentary elections. Addressing his colleagues, Al- Azmi urged them to refrain from sacrificing public interests for the sake of an alliance with the government.

He reminded them about the results of the last election, when voters punished the MPs who supported the government in return for the completion of certain transactions. He affirmed that the proposal to hold a special session to vote on the amendment of the above mentioned law will be submitted repeatedly until the session is held or the government resigns. He is not afraid of the dissolution of the Assembly, since the issue is in the hands of citizens who are free to re-elect the same MP or vote for others.

In a relevant development, MP Fares Al-Otaibi submitted a bill, which he signed along with nine other MPs, to hold a special session for the same purpose. He asserted the absence of the government is not surprising at all, because the latter is afraid to face the MPs. He accused the government of abusing the law to dismiss the opposition and work against the objectives of lawmakers. He argued the law stipulates a permanent penalty, without considering the rehabilitation criteria stipulated in Articles 244 to 250 of the Penal Code.

Meanwhile, MP Thamer Al- Suwait forwarded queries to Minister of Health Dr Khalid Al- Saeed about the legal basis for issuing Decision No. 8/2021 to renew the tenure of the incumbent chairman of the Board of Directors at the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition (PAFN) for the second time even if this appointment requires implementation of a decree as per Article 10 of the relevant law. He disclosed this violation was mentioned in the report of the State Audit Bureau (SAB), in addition to other violations. He said the term of several board members at PAFN has ended, yet the board still holds meetings and issues decisions. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff and Agencies

This news has been read 11159 times!