National Assembly (Kuwait)

National Assembly
11th Session
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Unicameral
History
Founded 1963
Leadership
Seats 50
Elections
Last election
 27 July 2013
Meeting place
Kuwait City
Kuwait
Website
http://www.kna.kw/
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The National Assembly (Arabic: مجلس الأمة‎), is the legislature of Kuwait. The current speaker of the house is Marzouq Al-Ghanim. The Constitutional Court constitutionally dissolved the house in June 2013, subsequently issuing a decree for new elections.

Overview

The National Assembly is the legislature (main legislative power) in Kuwait.[1] The National Assembly's most significant power is the ability to remove ministers from their post.

The National Assembly (per article 4 of the Constitution) has the constitutional right to approve and disapprove of an Emir's appointment. The National Assembly effectively removed Saad al-Sabah from his post in 2006 because of Saad's inability to rule due to illness. Kuwait's National Assembly is the most independent parliament in the Arab world,[2] it is among the strongest parliaments in the Middle East.[3]

The appointment of a crown prince requires approval by an absolute majority of the members of the National Assembly parliament. If the new crown prince fails to win approval from the National Assembly, the Emir submits the names of three eligible members of the family to the National Assembly, and the National Assembly selects one to be the crown prince.

The National Assembly can have up to 50 MPs. Fifty deputies are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Members of the cabinet also sit in the parliament as deputies. The constitution limits the size of the cabinet to 16, and at least one member of the cabinet must be an elected MP.

The cabinet ministers have the same rights as the elected MPs, with the following two exceptions: they do not participate in the work of committees, and they cannot vote when an interpolation leads to a no-confidence vote against one of the cabinet members. MPs frequently exercise their constitutional right to interpellate cabinet members. The National Assembly's interpellation sessions of cabinet ministers are aired on Kuwaiti TV. MPs also have the right to interpellate the prime minister, and then table a motion of non-cooperation with the government, in which case the cabinet must get replaced.

The fifty-seat house is elected every four years. Currently there are five geographically distributed electoral districts. Every eligible citizen is entitled to one vote. The ten candidates with the most votes in each district win seats.

Dissolutions

The Constitutional Court and Emir both have the authority to dissolve the house and must subsequently call for new elections within two months. The Constitutional Court is widely believed to be one of the most judicially independent courts in the Arab world.[4] The Constitutional Court has dissolved the house several times, most recently in 2013. The Emir has dissolved the house on five separate occasions. On two of those, the house was dissolved unconstitutionally, since no new elections were held within the legally required period. On the three other occasions, the Emir constitutionally dissolved the house and new elections were held immediately afterward. This happened in 1999, 2006, and most recently in 2011.

Building

The parliament building was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who also designed Sydney Opera House.

Political factions

While political parties are not legally recognized in Kuwait, a number of political factions exist. The house is composed of different political factions in addition to independents:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Robert F. Worth (2008). "In Democracy Kuwait Trusts, but Not Much". New York Times.
  2. ↑ Nathan J. Brown. "Mechanisms of accountability in Arab governance: The present and future of judiciaries and parliaments in the Arab world" (PDF). p. 16-18.
  3. ↑ Eran Segal. "Kuwait Parliamentary Elections: Women Making History" (PDF). Tel Aviv Notes. p. 1.
  4. ↑ "Kuwait court ruling may threaten economic recovery". Reuters. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.

External links