Kuwait bans 21 candidates from elections

Kuwait’s top court yesterday barred 21 candidates from running in the parliamentary elections due to take place on 26 November.

The 21 candidates were among 47 others whose candidacies were refused by the electoral committee. The electoral committee checks all applications to ensure all applicant conditions are met.

Some candidates were rejected for not completing their application forms and others were rejected for not meeting the requirements to participate in the elections. Two of the most important requirements are for the candidate to have a substantial moral reputation and to have a clean security record.

In some cases, when previous candidates were barred from partaking in the elections, they appealed to the administrative court and had the decision overruled.

This year, a case that caused a nation-wide debate was the case of Abdul Hameed Al-Dashti, a former lawmaker who has been sentenced to a maximum of 31 years in prison for incitement against the Kuwaiti monarchy.

In July, Dashti called for civilians to participate in the “Syrian jihad” by fighting with the Syrian army and Shia Hezbollah forces.

The court initially rejected his candidacy on the grounds of him submitting his application through his son, as he is currently in exile. He then appealed and the ban was waved. Within days, the Kuwaiti court of appeal rejected the lower court’s decision to allow Dashti to run as a candidate in the elections and proceeded to reinstate the ban on him. The elections are being held after the Kuwaiti Emir dissolved parliament for the sixth time since 2006.