Court to rule on barring candidates March 20 and 21

Kuwait: The administrative court on Monday said it will issue its verdicts on decisions by the elections committee to bar some candidates from running in the April 4 elections on March 20 and 21. The elections committee has disqualified 14 candidates from contesting the snap polls, saying they do not fulfil all conditions to become candidates.

Three of the 14 barred candidates, former MPs Marzouq Al-Khalifa, Marzouq Al-Hubaini and Jaber Al-Azemi, have challenged the elections committee’s decisions in court. The court said it will rule on the case of Khalifa on Wednesday and the cases of Hubaini and Azemi on Thursday. The court’s rulings are not final and can be appealed before the court of appeals.

The three former lawmakers had been convicted in previous years of taking part in outlawed tribal primary elections and their conviction was considered as a crime by the elections committee, which disqualified them. Under Kuwaiti law, people who are convicted of crimes against honor and trust are barred from taking part in elections. A number of other disqualified candidates have said they will challenge the elections committee’s decisions.

The courts must issue final decisions on the cases before the election date to allow these candidates to run if they are cleared. The snap polls were called after HH the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah dissolved the National Assembly on Feb 15 following remarks made by some MPs deemed offensive to HH the Amir.