A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Another Court Dissolves Another Parliament

 UPDATE: Kristian Coates Ulrichsen on the background at Foreign Policy Mideast Channel.

Kuwait's Constitutional Court has declared that the Parliamentary elections in February were invalid, thus declaring the new Parliament dissolved and reinstating the old one. The move comes less than a week after a court dissolved Egypt's Parliament.

The Amir had previously suspended Parliament for a month to avoid the body questioning a member of the Royal Family. The new Parliament had been controlled by the "opposition," critical of the government's policies. (Only in such Gulf States as Kuwait and Bahrain can Parliament be controlled by the "opposition,": since Parliament does not appoint the Cabinet.)