Kuwait Assembly voted on demographic imbalance bill

The Emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, opened the fifth supplementary session on 20th October, otherwise known as the last session before the legislative term ends.

Tuesday was the last day of the 15th legislative term of Kuwait’s National Assembly (parliament), where MPs voted on various laws, from the demographic imbalance law to the change in electoral voting system.

After the opening remarks by the Emir and Prime Minister, parliament voted on a series of laws, before the end of the legislative term as the country prepares for parliamentary elections on December 5.

During his speech, the Emir called for unification as he said, “National unity has proven to be our strongest weapon in facing challenges, dangers and crises.”

All 53 MPs present unanimously approved the second deliberation of the demographic law, which will now be referred to the government for implementation.

The MPs voted on a revised draft law, which had amendments from the previous proposal, most notably the deletion of the second clause of article 1 which states that a maximum limit of expats would be determined depending on the percentage of the number of citizens.

In the revised draft, several articles were removed including an article that detailed those that are exempt from the law like children of Kuwaiti women and GCC citizens.

Both the MPs and government agreed on the amendments, after both parties held a meeting earlier this week to discuss changes to the previous law, which was approved in its first deliberation last month.