Kuwaitis march in protest against election

KUWAIT CITY: Tens of thousands of supporters of the Kuwaiti opposition marched in the capital Friday on the eve of election to urge voters to boycott the polls in protest against a change to the electoral law.

Chanting slogans “we are boycotting” and “the people want the repeal of the amendment”, the demonstrators marched peacefully after authorities issued a permit unlike the previous protests which turned violent.

Large numbers of women, many of whom veiled, and children carrying Kuwaiti flags and orange colour banners, took part in the protest described by onlookers as one of the biggest in this oil-rich Gulf state.

“Absolute power corrupts” read a banner in English as the enthusiastic crowds continued singing national songs and chanting slogans calling for boycotting the polls until they reached the finish line at the landmark Kuwait Towers on the seaside Arabian Gulf Road.

“I am here to protest against the law amendment because it is a breach of

the constitution. It will elect a pro-government parliament,” Abdullah al-Shemmari, a public sector engineer, told AFP. Police was present in large numbers but this time to organise the protest and regulate traffic around the march path.

Several leading opposition figures and former MPs like ex-speaker Ahmad al-Saadun, Mussallam al-Barrak, Faisal al-Muslim and others led the protest.

“Today, the Kuwaiti people are sending a message peacefully that we are against the law amendment and against the oppressive attitude of the government,” member of the scrapped 2012 parliament Adel al-Damkhi said.

“The regime should read the message seriously that there is a real rejection of the law,” Damkhi told AFP. The Islamist, nationalist and liberal opposition says the poll boycott is in protest at the government’s unilateral amendment of the electoral law, which it describes as a violation of the constitution.

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