Kuwaiti crown prince warns parliament ‘public will hold them to account’

DUBAI: Kuwait’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has urged the people of his country to monitor the performance of parliamentarians and to ‘hold them accountable’ in his opening speech during the country’s 17th National Assembly on Tuesday. 

Sheikh Mishal added that parliament members should fulfill the promises they make, and he vowed to follow up on work involving the strategic plan before parliament.

The Crown Prince directed politicians to respect the constitutional powers of the Emir and added that opposition weakened the government. 
“Do not listen to the voices of division who want to break up national unity,” said Sheikh Mishal.

Following the speech, the new lawmakers took the constitutional oath and elected lawmaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun as the legislature’s new speaker.

Al-Saadoun is set to hold the post until the end of the National Assembly's term, in accordance with the country's constitution. Saadoun closed the session later and declared that the upcoming session would be on Tuesday, Nov. 1. 

An Amiri decree was published on Oct. 9 calling on the parliament to convene in the wake of the legislative elections, which took place on Sept. 29.
Almost 796,000 Kuwaitis were eligible to vote for the members of the country’s parliament from a pool of 305 candidates, as reported by state agency KUNA. 
Elections were held after the previous parliament was dissolved in August due to “practices and actions that threaten national unity,” said Sheikh Mishal. 
The 50 selected members of the National Assembly serve a four-year term as per Kuwait’s legislation.