Kuwait discards 2022 parliament voting, reinstates previous assembly

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Kuwait's Constitutional Court reinstated on Sunday the previous parliament, which was elected in 2020, after nullifying last year's legislative elections as the political crisis in the Gulf state continues.

The only Gulf state with a fully elected legislature and the key oil producer has been hit by regular feuding between the ruling Al-Sabah family and the assembly.

Earlier in March, Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Sabah was re-appointed by the Kuwaiti Crown Prince, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, to form a new government more than one month after the former government resigned due to political rifts with parliament.

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The government earlier submitted its resignation to the political leadership in the wake of the recent crisis with the National Assembly against the backdrop of popular laws, as well as some other issues.

In attempts to defuse political tensions in the country, the crown prince announced the dissolution of parliament and called for early elections, which then granted the opposition more gains in the government.

Opposition members won the majority in the parliamentary elections last September and managed to secure 28 seats out of 50, nearly 60% of the National Assembly seats. The opposition has regularly accused ministers from the royal family of mismanagement and corruption.

"The Kuwaiti Constitutional Court issued a verdict on Sunday annulling the results of the 2022 National Assembly elections," due to contreversies in the decree that dissolved the previous parliament, Kuwaiti state agency KUNA said0. The decree came following a number of electoral appeals, Lawyer Nawaf Al-Yassin told AFP. 

"The appeals relate to the invalidity of the electoral process, the decrees calling for elections, and the decree dissolving the previous National Assembly."    

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