Kuwait’s Liberal Bloc Welcomes Court Ruling on Parliament
Kuwait’s liberal bloc is seizing the opportunity to restore its political voice with the dissolution of parliament.
On June 16, Kuwait’s constitutional court found the country’s parliament illegitimate and ordered its end, depriving its members even of their legal status as former parliamentarians. Kuwaitis waited for weeks for the court’s decision, hoping it would put an end to the political uncertainty caused last year by the emir’s decree to amend the electoral law. Now that the ruling described the emir’s amendment legal and official “as it serves the national interest and the chances of minorities to be represented,” political groups and their supporters are announcing their plans to take part or not in the July 25 elections.
The liberals are back
In the past few years, the liberal bloc represented by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which had three MPs in the 2009 parliament, has been criticized by both its supporters and members of the opposition for its position on the struggle against former prime minister Nasser al-Mohammed, popular protests and the amendment of the electoral law. On one side, some supporters did not want their liberal members to work with an opposition that is ideologically Islamist, conservative and, more importantly, tribal. The liberal MPs, however, were split in their priorities and parliamentary votes throughout the months of protesting and grilling of Mohammed until he resigned in November 2011.
The way the liberals organize politically in Kuwait is also split. They usually cooperate with the National Bloc, which had six MPs in 2009, placing them together with independent MPs who are mostly nationalists of the urban upper class. They also work with Saleh al-Mulla from the Arab nationalist al-Manbar. When the opposition decided to boycott the elections in December, the three supported the boycott in a coalition, describing the emir’s decision as unconstitutional.
