Kuwaiti authorities to allow protest march ahead of elections

PanARMENIAN.Net - Authorities will allow a protest march to go ahead the day before the Dec 1 parliamentary election in Kuwait, the Gulf Arab state's prime minister said in a move designed to ease tensions ahead of the poll, Reuters reported.

Thousands of people have staged regular demonstrations since late October against a decree issued by Kuwait's ruler, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, which reduced the number of votes allowed per citizen to one from four.

The opposition movement, which includes youth groups and former members of parliament, has called for a boycott of the election in the U.S.-allied major oil producer over the changes.

They say the amendments are an attempt to skew the elections in favor of pro-government candidates. Protesters say they seek reform, not an Arab Spring-style revolution like those that have ousted several Arab rulers since early last year.

The emir says the voting system is flawed and that the changes are constitutional and needed for the sake of Kuwait's "security and stability".

Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah said "the organizers got a license from the concerned security services, so the government had nothing against the march," state news agency KUNA reported late on Monday, Nov 26.

Kuwait allows the most dissent among the Gulf Arab states and its citizens often hold rallies in a designated area outside parliament. But recent unlicensed protest marches in the streets beyond have been broken up by police using teargas and smoke bombs.

Authorities are keen to prevent the kind of unrest Kuwait experienced on Oct 21, when thousands of demonstrators attempted to reach government headquarters in the largest protest march and were dispersed by police. At least 29 people were injured during that march, according to a medical source.

Under the new rules, each voter chooses only one candidate instead of four, a move the parliamentary opposition says will prevent its candidates winning the majority they had in the last election.