Kuwait uncovers votes buying scheme by parliamentary candidate

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior said its security services have uncovered a scheme to buy votes set up by the candidate running for the National Assembly elections scheduled in late November or early December.

The ministry posted a video clip on its Twitter account illustrating the details of the operation.

“The Investigation Department at Farwaniya Governorate received information of the votes- buying operation and following thorough investigation it located a house in one of the fourth district areas where the operation was run,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, after obtaining legal permission, the security forces raided the house and seized 2,779 Kuwaiti dinars ($9,079), 46 envelopes containing 200 Kuwaiti dinars ($653) each and lists with voters’ names.

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The ministry said six people had been arrested and once confronted, the accused admitted that they were buying votes and that they would require voters to “take an oath before handing them the cash”.

The defendants will now be referred to the judiciary for prosecution, it added.