Criminal Court issues verdict in 2023 vote-buying case involving former MP Saad Al-Khanfour and others

The Criminal Court has issued its verdict in the high-profile vote-buying case related to the 2023 National Assembly elections in Kuwait’s first, second, and fourth constituencies. The case involved 12 defendants, including former MP Saad Al-Khanfour and his son, facing charges of electoral fraud, vote-buying, and misuse of telecommunications.

The court acquitted Saad Al-Khanfour, the primary defendant, of charges involving covert vote-buying and misuse of telecommunications. His acquittal was based on lack of evidence and was hailed by his lawyer, Mohammed Al-Otaibi, as a fair ruling grounded in conclusive proof of innocence.

The second defendant, an employee at the Ministry of Information, was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor for engaging in vote-buying and accepting bribes. The court refrained from issuing a verdict on a related charge of hashish possession, instead placing the defendant under a one-year good conduct pledge and imposing bail of KD 1,000.

The third and fourth defendants, an unemployed citizen and a municipal employee respectively, received three-year prison terms with hard labor on similar vote-buying and bribery charges.
Ali Saad Al-Khanfour, the fifth defendant, was acquitted of all charges, including accepting money to mediate vote-buying and misusing telecommunications.

The sixth defendant, a Ministry of Education employee, was also cleared of similar charges.

The seventh and eighth defendants—a retired Defense Ministry employee and a legal researcher at the Ministry of Justice—were each fined KD 3,000 for participating in vote-buying and misusing telecommunications.

The ninth defendant, a 23-year-old Kuwaiti student, was acquitted of all charges. The eleventh and twelfth defendants, both non-Kuwaitis—one unemployed with a prior drug conviction and the other an assistant manager at a sports club—were also acquitted of mediating in vote-buying and misuse of telecommunications.

The tenth defendant, a non-Kuwaiti international football referee, was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor and fined KD 3,000 for accepting money to mediate in vote-buying and misusing telecommunications.

Lawyer Mohammed Al-Otaibi praised the court’s decision, particularly the acquittal of Saad Al-Khanfour, emphasizing that justice had prevailed through the presentation of irrefutable evidence clearing his client’s name.
The case marks a significant legal milestone in Kuwait’s ongoing efforts to combat electoral fraud and uphold the integrity of the democratic process.