Kuwait Electoral Law Up for September Review

Photo Credit: Al Jazeera

Kuwait’s Constitutional Court said that it would look into a case filed by the government over the controversial electoral law on September 5 as opposition members said they planned to hold a rally next week. The cabinet referred Law 42/2006 to the court requesting a review of the constitutionality of articles related to the five-constituency system and the number of candidates each voter is able to elect. The government has argued that the law should be amended to” ensure democracy practices and the representation of all sectors and groups in the parliament.” Meanwhile, Sadeel al-Sayegh writes that numerous Kuwaiti officials have said the “political environment is hindering national economic growth.” He points out that Kuwait has had eight governments over the previous six years. Abdul Aziz Yaqout, the legal adviser for the Capital Markets Authority and the privatisation committee for the Kuwait Stock Exchange, says “The stalemate between the government and parliament is the single-largest reason for the stagnation of the Kuwaiti economy, for the lack of movement in fixing the economy and ultimately halting economic development.”

In neighboring Saudi Arabia, Christopher Wilcke suggests that “the push to get women into the workforce, which religious conservatives are fiercely resisting,” has been largely ignored by the international community. He asserts that, in theory, recent labor decrees have given women more employment opportunities but have also reaffirmed gender segregation in the work place. Finally, he adds that Saudi women are “increasingly braving opprobrium to seek meaningful work, which is destined to challenge and perhaps ultimately undermine Saudi Arabia’s ‘different, but equal’ façade.”