Editorial: A role model Friday, 03 February 2012 05:13

Kuwaitis crossed the first post, fourth time in six years, in its half a century old experiment in incremental democratic polity with some 60 percent of the 400,000 electorate exercising its franchise by 8pm last evening when the polls closed. The counting of votes began immediately with the first results expected early today. But that’s only the easy first step.

Pollsters have given the opposition as many as 33 seats in the 50-member National Assembly based on pre-election surveys. The snap poll came after the Emir dissolved parliament following months of standoff between the government of former prime Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al Ahmed Al Sabah and legislators over allegations of corruption ( leading to his resignation) and unprecedented protests led by the youth.

A highly charged campaign run on demands for meaningful political reforms and transparent, participatory governance and a young population getting increasingly restive with gusts of Arab Spring wind swirling around them will not make the task of the new government any easier.

While a strong opposition in the House holds the promise of pushing the reform agenda forward if they are able to manage public opinion in their favour and broaden their powers by taking a more inclusive approach, but it also has the potential to hold up legislations and frustrate the ordinary citizens already weary of the lack of progress and slow economic growth.

The new prime minister will do well to pick more MPs to his cabinet and work on progressive legislations to bring about meaningful changes and plug the structural loopholes in the polity and thereby eliminate, or at least, reduce the tension between the executive and legislative wings of the government. He must diligently work on reviving a sluggish economy. The country has seen the GCC’s slowest-growth in the past five years, according to the International Monetary Fund. It grew at an average 2.6 percent, compared with the United Arab Emirates’ 4.2 percent, Bahrain’ 5.7 percent and a whopping 18 percent growth in Qatar. A large portion of the blame for that can be put on the executive-legislative standoff. In the country’s polity the government is headed by a prime minister appointed by the Emir, so far a senior member of the ruling family, and parliament has more ability to block its actions than shape them.

Kuwait created the Gulf’s first elected parliament half a century ago. Will it now provide its neighbours a role model in parliamentary governance?