‘Govt missing as MPs occupied vital seats’
KUWAIT CITY, April 28: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim adjourned the session slated for Tuesday until after Eid Al-Fitr, indicating the government declined to attend the session because some MPs occupied the seats allocated for ministers and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid. A few days before the session, the opposition MPs posted a joint statement on their Twitter accounts stating “no grilling, no session”. When the session started on Tuesday, several MPs occupied the front seats where members of the government are usually seated.
They also pasted papers with the statement: “We have taken the 1962 oath,” referring to the issuance of the Constitution in 1962. The government then issued a statement, clarifying they went to the Assembly building to attend the session as the agenda included important items such as the grilling motion against Minister of Health Dr Basel Al-Sabah; voting on the second reading of the bills to amend the printing, publishing and audiovisiual laws; and approval of the budget allotted for the incentive of frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus crisis. However, they were surprised as the seats allotted for them were occupied by some MPs; pointing out this is a violation of a parliamentary tradition practiced in various legislatures throughout the world. They affirmed the government is ready to cooperate with the Assembly, pointing out the illegal action of some MPs proves wrong the allegation that the executive authority is disrupting parliamentary sessions.