Will early elections backfire on Kuwait's government?
The Kuwaiti emir's dissolution of parliament could come back to haunt the ruling family.
Citing unspecified “regional circumstances” and “security challenges,” Emir Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah exercised his authority to dissolve the country’s colorful, dynamic and vibrant National Assembly, the institution that makes Kuwait the most democratic member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). For Kuwaitis, his Oct. 16 act is nothing new. Since the country’s parliamentary life began in 1962, the emir dissolved the parliament on eight previous occasions: in 1976, 1986, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012. Only six elected parliaments have lasted full terms. With the latest dissolution, Kuwaitis are now preparing for elections on Nov. 26, instead of in July 2017.
This time around, with cheap oil plaguing Kuwait’s economic health and violent extremists posing a threat, the emir declared that Kuwait must turn “to the people, the source of authority, to choose their representatives who express their aspirations.” Parliament Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim, hailed the emir’s decree as a “praiseworthy democratic practice.” Below the surface, however, tensions are mounting in the political arena.
Although the Arab Spring of 2011-12 — in Kuwait largely shaped by public outcry over the mismanagement of public funds and corruption, calls for a more democratic government and open criticism of privileges enjoyed by Al Sabah family members — did not come remotely close to destabilizing Kuwait to the degree that it did in other Arab states, the activism that did occur indicated that the rich emirate is not immune to the winds of change blowing across the region.
Plummeting oil prices pushed Kuwait to run its first deficit in 2016, after 16 years of surpluses, and prompted the government to implement unpopular austerity measures. Most recently, parliamentarians and activists voiced their staunch opposition to a gas price hike, which took effect in August but was scraped late last month by an administrative court. With low oil prices squeezing Kuwait financially, a growing number of Kuwaitis fear reductions and slashes in long-provided social services.
