Dissolution of the Kuwaiti National Assembly: A Positive Move
June 15, 2006
By Logan Barclift
In May the Emir of Kuwait dissolved the National Assembly when three legislators requested that the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, submit to questioning. The reason for the questioning was a government move to send legislation amending the voting law to reduce the number of electoral districts in the country to the Constitutional Court. The proposal was approved by the cabinet but opposition by some members in the National Assembly caused the government to make the referral which is seen as a delaying tactic that could kill the proposal. Liberal and Islamist members supported the proposed electoral reform and three of them wanted to question the Prime Minister on the referral and possibly issue a no-confidence vote. Instead the Emir dissolved the Assembly claiming the debate had become too charged.
On the surface the dissolution of the National Assembly looks to be a set back for democracy in a country were it had looked promising. However, there are several reasons why this could be a good thing for the Kuwaiti people.
First, women will be able to vote and run for the National Assembly a year earlier that they would have if the Assembly had not been dissolved. Women were given the right to vote and run for office in May 2005 but had not been able to vote in the municipal elections held latter that year due to the voter registration period having passed. The notion that the country can not handle women voting and campaigning for office was dispelled in early April of this year when women voted in a special election to fill a vacant seat on the municipal council. Two women actually ran for that seat with one of them coming in second. They will now be able to affect who governs them on a much larger level with the elections in June. About thirty women have signed up to run in the June 29 election.
A draw back to this is the fact that women candidates now have a very short period in which to campaign. However, the advantage of actually getting to participate now outweighs the disadvantages of the shorten campaign time.
Another way to look at the move by the Emir is what it shows for how the Constitution is viewed. The Emir does have the right to dissolve the National Assembly and call for new elections under the Constitution. The government could have simply refused to allow the Prime Minister to be questioned, as would have happen in many neighboring countries. This would have been a violation of the Constitution which says that the Assembly can question members of the government. By taking the seemingly extreme measure of dissolving the Assembly the Emir stayed within the Constitution. This shows some constraint on the ruling family. Dissolving the Assembly brings considerable damage to the ruling family�s legitimacy if it is seen as a means to circumvent the will of the people. The fact that the Emir would take such a drastic measure when a simpler route was available shows the level to which they are willing to stay within the Constitution.
The best solution to this problem is to have a Prime Minister elected by the National Assembly and who regularly submits to questioning by its members. This or a different way of giving the people some control over the executive branch will eventually need to happen for Kuwait and other countries of the region to grow into the full democracies that their people deserve. Until then, a ruling family that feels the need to stay within its powers under the Constitution is a very good start.
A third reason the dissolution of the Assembly can be considered in a positive light, is the fact that the electoral reform has become a campaign issue hotly debated by candidates. The movement to reduce the number of districts is supported by reformers who want to make the National Assembly more reflective of the people by breaking tribal and sectarian lines. Now with twenty-five districts the number of people in each one is so small that someone can win a seat in the Assembly by belonging to a certain tribe where people vote for him regardless of his views, or by buying votes. By reducing the number of districts the number of voters in each one, especially with women voting, will be large enough to make the candidates issue-oriented and most likely reflect the interests of their constituents.
Now, the supporters of the reform can use the democratic process to make their voice heard and put members in the Assembly who will bring real reform. The government already supports reducing the number of district down to at least ten and possibly five. The National Assembly remains the final stumbling block. Even if the reformers fail to win enough seats in the coming election then they will have had their chance with the voters. They will know that they still have a ways to go in convincing their fellow citizens to support their ideas, which is a key part of a democracy.
Other countries of the region should take notice of the way that Kuwait is leading the way among GCC countries in its ability to have an elected parliament that represents the people while maintaining stability. Even though the Assembly has been dissolved the people are still the one who benefit. Bahrain, for example, is another small country in the region that could have a fully elected parliament but sectarian concerns on the part of the Sunni minority prevents further advancement.
Democracy in the Arab world is a noble goal that will take a long time to achieve. It will require that the leadership of the region have the best interests of their people in mind as they make decisions. The slow movement is there, in Kuwait as least, and it is driven by internal desires for reform. That is the best situation for freedom to grow and recent events may have been the continuation of that process.
Logan Barclift is a policy analyst at the Institute for Gulf Affairs.
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