The National Assembly, is the unicamerallegislature of Kuwait. The National Assembly meets in Kuwait City. Members are chosen through direct election; the country is divided into five electoral districts with ten members representing each district. There are no official political parties in Kuwait, therefore candidates run as independents during elections; upon winning, members usually form informal parliamentary blocs. The National Assembly is made up of 50 elected members as well as up to 15 appointed government ministers who are ex officio members. On October 16, 2016, the Amir of Kuwait issued a decree dissolving the National Assembly citing security challenges, paving the way for early elections, which were held on November 26, 2016.
Overview
The National Assembly is the legislature in Kuwait, established in the 1960s. Its predecessor, the 1938 National Assembly was formally dissolved in 1939 after "one member, Sulaiman al-Adasani, in possession of a letter, signed by other Assembly members, addressed to Iraq's King Ghazi, requesting Kuwait's immediate incorporation into Iraq". This demand came after the merchant members of the Assembly attempted to extract oil money from Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, a suggestion refused by him and upon which he instigated a crackdown which arrested the Assembly members in 1939. The National Assembly has the power to remove government ministers from their post. MPs frequently exercise their constitutional right to interpellate government members. The National Assembly's interpellation sessions of ministers are aired on Kuwaiti TV. MPs also have the right to interpellate the prime minister, and then table a motion of non-cooperation with the government, in which case the cabinet must get replaced. The National Assembly can have up to 50 MPs. Fifty deputies are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Members of the cabinet also sit in the parliament as deputies. The constitution limits the size of the cabinet to 16, and at least one member of the cabinet must be an elected MP. The cabinet ministers have the same rights as the elected MPs, with the following two exceptions: they do not participate in the work of committees, and they cannot vote when an interpolation leads to a no-confidence vote against one of the cabinet members. The National Assembly is the main legislative power in Kuwait. The Emir can veto laws but the National Assembly can override his veto by a two-third vote. The National Assembly has the constitutional right to approve and disapprove of an Emir's appointment. The National Assembly effectively removed Saad al-Sabah from his post in 2006 because of Saad's inability to rule due to illness. In 2001, Nathan J. Brown considered Kuwait's National Assembly to be the most independent parliament in the Arab world; in 2009, Eran Segal considered it to be among the "strongest" parliaments in the Middle East.
The Constitutional Court has the authority to dissolvethe house and must subsequently call for new elections within two months. The Constitutional Court is widely believed to be one of the most judicially independent courts in the Arab world.. The Constitutional Court can also invalidate the Emir's decree dissolving the parliament.
While political parties are not legally recognized in Kuwait, a number of political factions exist. The house is composed of different political factions in addition to independents:
The liberal, secular bloc: Ten members were elected in the 2013 elections, making them the largest political bloc in the current parliament.
During the 1990-1991 Gulf War, Saddam Hussein made Kuwait the 19th province of Iraq. As a result, Ali Hassan al-Majid became the governor and took over what was left of the original government.
