Kuwaiti court rejects Dashti’s bid for government

Kuwait’s Court of Appeals has rejected a ruling by a lower court that allowed former lawmaker Abdul Hamid Dashti to run in the parliamentary elections later this month. The lower court waved the ban on Dashti, along with 12 other candidates last week, but the Court of Appeals has ruled that the ban must remain in place on the basis that he applied by proxy.

Dashti, who has been living in exile since March, submitted his application to run for the elections through his son. A court order allowed his son Talal Dashti to submit his nomination papers on his behalf.

Despite this, the court later issued a ruling stating that proxy filing was not allowed and that it would only accept papers from the candidates themselves. Dashti is known for his inflammatory comments against the Kuwaiti monarchy and the political establishment. In total, Dashti has been convicted to 31 years in prison for defaming the government and monarchy. Kuwaiti parliamentary elections are due to take place on 26 November. Elections are being held after the Kuwaiti Emir dissolved parliament for the sixth time since 2006.