The Health Committee, in a previous meeting, at a time when 5 deputies submitted a proposal to establish a joint-stock company to regulate the affairs of expatriate workers, three members proposed amending the National Assembly Elections Law, which specified the penalty of imprisonment or a fine for anyone who embezzled, concealed, executed, corrupted an electoral list, or steal ballot boxes.
Five MPs have submitted a proposal to establish a joint-stock company to regulate the affairs of expatriate workers, and referred it to the Health Committee of the National Assembly.
The proposal, which was submitted by Abdullah Al-Anbaei, Muhalhel Al-Mudhaf, Hassan Johar, Abdulaziz Al-Saqabi, Hamad Al-Mudlej, stated that the Council of Ministers entrusts the Partnership Projects Authority to exclusively establish one or more Kuwaiti joint stock companies based in Kuwait, whose objective is to recruit and organize work of expatriate workers, supervising the process and procedures for their arrival and the end of their work period, and ensuring the extent of their effectiveness and efficiency in the work assigned to them, in a way that guarantees their human rights, reports Al-Jarida daily.
This is provided that the shares of this company or companies are allocated as follows — 24% of the shares are for the government and its affiliates, 26% of the shares are offered for sale in a public auction in which the joint-stock companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange participate, and 50% of the shares are allocated for public subscription to all citizens.
The proposal stipulates that the company must be concerned with organizing the work of recruiting workers and everything related to their employment and the methods of contracting with them, provided that one of the company’s objectives is the recruitment and employment of domestic workers to work in Kuwait in accordance with the provisions of the laws regulating domestic workers issued in this regard, and business owners are prohibited employing non-Kuwaiti workers unless they have a work permit and are registered with the Public Authority for Manpower, subject to the applicable rules of this law, and their recruitment must have been through the company designated by this law.
The sponsorship system must be completely abolished and replaced by the rules specified by the company provided the assistance of the concerned authorities is sought in this regard to seek their opinion.
The proposal also stipulates that the company has the right to terminate employment that does not achieve feasibility in the labor market, provided that this does not conflict with the rules regarding the powers of the Ministry of Interior regarding deportation and the laws regulating it. The company must also work to end everything related to menial workers.
Three MPs have submitted a proposal for a law amending Article No. 45 of Law No. 35 of 1962 regarding the election of members of the National Assembly. The proposal of Representatives Majid Al-Mutairi, Hamid Al-Bathali and Youssef Al-Bathali stipulated that the text of Article 45 of Law No. 35 of 1962 referred to be replaced with the following text:
“Article 45: Punishment by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding ten thousand dinars, or by one of these two penalties, each of the following:
— First: Anyone who embezzled, conceals, destroys, or spoils the election table or any other paper related to the election process, or changes the election result in any other way.
— Second: Anyone who violates the freedom or order of elections by using force or threat, or by participating in gatherings, shouting, or demonstrations.
— Third: Whoever kidnaps or destroys the box containing the ballot papers.
— Fourth: Anyone who uses places of worship or places of learning to call for voting in favor of or harms a particular candidate.
— Fifth: Anyone who uses the funds of associations and unions or uses their headquarters to call for voting in favor of or harming a particular candidate.
The explanatory memorandum of the proposal stated, “Since the election is a personal right by which the citizen completes, according to its conditions, the democracy contract, which is a fundamental principle in Kuwaiti legislation, and it is important to look at the frameworks regulating the exercise of this right, which is the voter’s exercise of his right to vote in the interest of the candidate who sees his eligibility to represent him and achieve the public interest of the country.
They added: Law No. 35 of 1962 regarding the elections of members of the National Assembly included in Article 45 the confirmation of legislative protection to enable every citizen to perform his electoral right, and it included penalties that represent a deterrent to anyone who tries to influence candidates or voters or cause a disruption of the entire electoral process.
