Kuwait parliament elects pro-Palestine lawmaker as speaker 

The Kuwaiti National Assembly yesterday elected veteran parliamentarian and pro-Palestine lawmaker, Ahmed Al-Saadoun, as the new speaker.

Local media outlets said Al-Saadoun, 88, has been named as Kuwait’s speaker of parliament after no lawmaker contested his candidacy.

Under Kuwait’s constitution, he will hold the post until the end of the National Assembly’s four-year term.

Al-Saadoun previously held the position in 1985, 1992 and 1996 and was elected as a member of the National Assembly for ten consecutive terms since 1975.

He also served as president of the Kuwait Football Association from 1968-1976 as well as vice president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) from 1974-1982.

As head of the Kuwaiti Football Association, Al-Saadoun rallied support from the AFC member states which culminated in expelling Israel from the group in September 1974.

Commenting on Al-Saadoun’s election, the head of Al-Quds Youth League, Kuwaiti activist Tariq Al-Shayaa, said Kuwait, at all official and popular levels, is reiterating that its primary cause is the Palestinian cause and that it does not forget Palestine or the Palestinians.

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