Kuwait has experienced a political standoff over a long term. The political stability has always depended on the cooperation of the parliament which is the oldest and the most powerful legislative system in the Gulf Arab states, and the government. However since 2007, the country has experienced standoffs which have led to the resignations of various government officials including the Oil minister (Torbey). In fact at some instance the Emir dissolved the parliament which was dominated by the opposition as a result of lack of cooperation from the members of parliament.
Election
The other issue of national importance is elections. The people of Kuwaiti have had as many as six parliamentary election over the past seven years (Reuters, "Kuwait Sets Sixth”) The main cause of these elections has been the political standoff between the parliament and the government which has forced the Emir to dissolve the parliament. However the constitutional courts have also played a part; in June, 2012, the court ruled to dissolve the parliament which was dominated by the Islamists (Westall and Mahmoud). On the same issue of elections, there have been instances of plots to change the electoral law and redraw the constituency boundaries in favor of a single group. This has led to clashes between the protesters and the police. On September, 2012, the court nullified a bill by government seeking to redraw the boundaries of constituencies before the forthcoming elections (Reuters, “Kuwait Court Dissolves Parliament”)
Corruption
Corruption has also been a significant issue in the national arena. There have been various protests against high level of corruption by government officials. One of them is the case of the Prime Minister (PM), Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah on March, 2009 where the parliament demands to question, leading to its dissolution by the Emir(Torbey). Later on that year, the PM survives another protest seeking to remove from office over corruption allegations.
Work cited
Reuters. "Kuwait Court Dissolves Parliament and Calls Vote That Opposition May Boycott." New York Times. New York Times Company, 16 June 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
Reuters. "Kuwait Sets Sixth Parliamentary Election in Seven Years." VOA. VOAnews.com, 20 June 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.
Torbey, Carine. "Kuwait Election: Shia Candidates Suffer at Polls." BBC News. BBC, 28 July 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.
Westall, Sylvia, and Mahmoud Harby. "Kuwait Court Orders Dissolution of Parliament, New Elections." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 16 June 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.
