Kuwait court nullifies 2022 vote, reinstates previous parliament

Kuwait’s Constitutional Court has ruled that last September’s parliamentary election, in which the opposition made gains, was void and that the previous assembly must be reinstated.

The move on Sunday comes at a time of renewed friction between the elected parliament and government and follows the reappointment this month of the country’s prime minister, whose government had resigned in January in the standoff with parliament.Last year, Kuwait’s crown prince dissolved parliament and called early polls in an effort to end prolonged domestic political feuding that has hindered fiscal reform.

The September polls – the most inclusive in a decade – saw opposition members clinch 28 out of 50 seats, giving them a parliamentary majority. The vote marked a victory for opposition figures, many of whom had stayed out of elections in the past decade over what they alleged was meddling by the executive authorities over parliament.

However, Justice Mohammad bin Naji on Sunday said the court had declared the dissolution of parliament as void and had annulled the early elections held in September.

“The constitutional authority of the dissolved parliament shall be restored as of the date of this ruling,” he told the court session attended by reporters.