Election fraud led to citizen ID being used to vote

Kuwait: The government said yesterday that a fact-finding ministerial commission had uncovered a large-scale election fraud involving the illegal movement of large numbers of voters across electoral districts that had helped shape the will of voters in Kuwait. To fix the violation, the government on Wednesday approved an emergency order requiring voters to vote in their constituencies based on the residential address on their citizen ID. It is used for the first time ever.

The decree, issued by Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, was published in the Gazette of Kuwait Al Youm late Wednesday night and entered into force accordingly. The requirement that voters use only their civil ID to prove their residency is a major change in Kuwait elections, which in the past relied on electoral rolls prepared by the Ministry of Interior and updated every February. I was.

The use of electoral rolls allowed candidates to illegally transfer the registration of thousands of voters from one constituency to another, dramatically increasing their chances of winning seats in parliament, he said. It is The Public Authority for Civil ID (PACI) issues new electoral rolls based on voters’ addresses.

This measure will prevent corrupt candidates from moving voters from one constituency to another, depriving them of a means that may have increased their chances of winning seats in Congress. The Fact-Finding Commission, formed on July 5 and delivered its report on August 13, ultimately concluded that the candidate’s massive voter movement was enough to determine the odds of winning, according to a commentary on the Amiri presidential decree. was found to increase

The instructions said the transfer of votes amounted to voter fraud and fraud leading to the forgery of the will of the people. Ahmad Al-Saadoun, a former speaker of parliament and a prominent dissident, said the government had paved the way for people to vote freely during the reform process.

Former parliamentarian Abdullah Al-Turaij said the measure would increase the integrity of elections but expressed concern that it could raise constitutional disputes. Two weeks ago, the National Assembly was dissolved by the Amiri decree, which also called for extraordinary elections to elect a new parliament. The decree cited ongoing political disputes between government and opposition lawmakers as the cause of the dissolution of the House of Commons.

In a televised address delivered by Crown Prince Naruhito two months ago, the emir vowed to prevent corruption in the upcoming elections and pledged that the government would not interfere in the election of the speaker of parliament. Adopting citizen ID for voters is one of the main demands opposition lawmakers have to ensure free and fair elections, he said. No date has yet been set for general elections, but under Kuwait’s constitution, new elections must be held within two months of the dissolution of parliament, in this case before October 1.

tribal primaries

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said yesterday that 10 people suspected of organizing and participating in illegal tribal primaries had been detained for 21 days before their trial began. People were arrested after organizing tribal primaries prohibited by law.

fire a foreigner

Rana Alfarez, Minister of Local Government Affairs, yesterday unveiled a one-year plan to lay off all foreign employees in Kuwait Municipalities. She said plans will begin in early September when her third of the foreign workers will receive layoff notices. The second phase will start on January 1st next year, and the third phase will start on July 1st, 2023.