Modification of the electoral system and opposition boycott On 21 June 2012, the Constitutional Court annulled the opposition-majority parliamentary session elected in
February 2012. Subsequently, Emir
Sabah Al-Ahmad issued a decree modifying the voting system for Kuwaiti citizens from four non-transferable votes to a
single non-transferable vote. This adjustment led to the opposition boycotting the
December 2012 and
2013 parliamentary elections.
Populist opposition to economic reform Under the speakership of
Marzouq Al-Ghanim, the 14th and 15th sessions passed some unpopular laws. In June 2016, parliament passed a
lèse-majesté law that banned citizens who defamed the dignity of the emir from running in elections. This law disqualified multiple opposition members like
Musallam Al-Barrak and
Bader Al-Dahoum from running for office. In August 2016, as part of economic reforms aimed at countering falling oil revenues, parliament approved a bill that increased heavily subsidised gasoline prices, some of the lowest globally, by 40-80%. This marked the first time gas prices were raised in 50 years.
Sabah Al-Khaled Premiership (December 2020 to June 2022) In the
December 2020 parliamentary election, two-thirds of the
incumbents lost their seats. On December 11, 40 MPs jointly announced their intention to vote for Bader Al-Humaidi to replace Marzouq Al-Ghanim as speaker of parliament.
Al-Khalid’s government elects Al-Ghanim On December 15, 2020, during the opening session of parliament, Marzouq Al-Ghanim was elected as speaker with 33 votes, including 16 from cabinet members, outvoting Al-Humaidi who received 28 votes. Al-Ghanim's election led to discontent between some elected MPs leading to a request to interpolate Al-Khalid as head of government. The interpolation was requested by MPs Al-Dahoum, Al-Suwait, and Al-Otaibi. Al-Suwait stated that Sabah Al-Khalid put forward his interests instead of the interests of the people, and 31 MPs supported the interpolation. On 18 January 2021, Sabah Al-Khalid's government resigned after staying in office for one month and four days.
The Opposition rejects to cooperate with Al-Khalid On 2 March 2021, Al-Khalid formed a new
cabinet. Later that month, on March 31, Al-Khalid's government was sworn in during a session that was
boycotted by opposition members, resulting in the attendance of only 33 members, including Al-Khalid and his 16 ministers, out of a total of 65. During this session, Al-Khalid requested a postponement of all his current and future interrogations until after the conclusion of the second parliamentary session, a request that was approved by the attending MPs. Additionally, the session included the declaration of the vacancy of Bader Al-Dahoum's parliamentary seat, which was the primary reason for the opposition's boycott. On 13 April 2021, opposition members introduced a motion to cancel the postponement of Al-Khalid's interrogations. The motion was defeated by 33 of the 60 attending members. Chaos ensued during the vote as opposition members protested the rejection at the podium.
Mohammed Al-Mutair escalated the situation by using a megaphone to shout, “This request shouldn’t pass!” while Saleh Al-Shallahi attempted to take a polling paper from the secretary-general. On April 28, opposition members occupied the government ministers’ designated seats in parliament, demanding that Al-Khalid appear at the “interpolation podium.” This led the government to boycott and subsequently abandon the session. The opposition continued this tactic on May 25, maintaining their
sit-in on the government seats, which prolonged the government's boycott.
Al-Wasmi succeeds Al-Dahoum On 8 June 2014, Bader Al-Dahoum was sentenced to one year and eight months in jail after insulting the
emir Sabah Al-Ahmad. After Al-Dahoum was voted into office, the validity of candidacy was questioned by the Constitutional Court. On the 15 March 2021, the constitutional court annulled Al-Dahoum's candidacy after he violated the candidacy laws passed two years after his speech. On 23 April 2021,
Obaid Al-Wasmi announced that he was going to run a
by-election for Al-Dahoum's vacated seat. Multiple opposition MPs welcomed Al-Wasmi's announcement including
Abdulkarim Al-Kanderi, Marzouq Al-Khalifa, and Bader Al-Dahoum himself. In the by-election held on May 21, Obaid Al-Wasmi got a historic 93% of the total votes amounting to 43,810 votes. Obaid's number of votes broke Musallam Al-Barrak's number in the February 2012 election of 31,263 votes. However, it is important to note that this comparison is not entirely equivalent, as Obaid participated in a by-election for a single seat, while Al-Barrak competed in a general election.
Kuwaiti National Dialogue Thirteen days before the opening of the second session on 26 October 2021, Emir
Nawaf Al-Ahmad invited opposition members and the government into a national dialogue in hopes that both branches would cooperate in the next session. On 8 October, the emir pardoned multiple opposition members who resided in
Türkiye. Musllam Al-Barrak, Salem Al-Namlan,
Jamaan Al-Harbash,
Faisal Al-Muslim, and others were all part of the emir's pardon list. Controversially, the pardon also included twenty Kuwaiti citizens who were part of the
Abdali Terrorist Cell (A “cell” affiliated with
Hezbollah that stored weapons in the town of Abdali) case. On 24 October, Marzouq Al-Ghanim and Sabah Al-Khalid were appointed to a committee for future Amiri Pardons. On 28 December 2021, as part of the National Dialogue, Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khalid announced the inclusion of several Members of Parliament in his new cabinet. The MPs appointed to the
39th cabinet included
Essa Al-Kandari, Mohammed Al-Rajhi, Hamad Rouheddine, and Mubarak Al-Arou. The dialogue created a lasting division among opposition members, with some, such as Mohammed Al-Mutair, rejecting cooperation with Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim, while others, like Obaid Al-Wasmi, participated in the dialogue efforts.
Al-Khalid’s fourth resignation During the National Dialogue, the decision to postpone all interrogations of Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khalid was reversed. On 29 March 2022, MPs
Muhannad Al-Sayer, Muhalhal Al-Mudhaf, and
Hassan Jawhar submitted a request to interpolate Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khalid. This interrogation escalated into the threat of a no-confidence vote, which was supported by 26 MPs and resulted in Al-Khalid's resignation on 5 April 2022. His government lasted for 99 days before Nawaf Al-Ahmad accepted his resignation on 10 May 2022.
2022 MP Sit-in and parliament dissolution In protest against Al-Khalid's delay in forming his government, on 15 June 2022, 17 members of parliament organized an overnight sit-in at their parliament offices. The participating MPs demanded the restoration of political life in Kuwait, which they argued had been disrupted during Sabah Al-Khalid's tenure as prime minister. On 22 June, Crown Prince
Mishal Al-Ahmad announced his intention to dissolve parliament after rising tensions between both sides. This ended the sit-in on the same day.
Ahmad Al-Nawaf Premiership (July 2022 - December 2023) On 24 July 2022, an Amiri decree issued by the Crown Prince, acting on behalf of the Emir, appointed the Emir's eldest son Sheikh
Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as Kuwait's Prime Minister. On 28 August, the Kuwaiti Cabinet led by Ahmad Nawaf Al-Sabah approved the decree calling for elections on 29 September. ==References==