Five deputies submitted a proposal to establish a joint-stock company to regulate the affairs of expatriate workers of which three members proposed to amend the National Assembly Election Law, which specified the penalty of imprisonment or a fine for anyone who embezzled, concealed, executed, corrupted an electoral list, or hijacked a ballot box
The proposal, submitted by Abdullah Al-Anbaei, Muhalhel Al-Mudhaf, Hassan Johar, Abdulaziz Al-Saqabi, Hamad Al-Mudlej, stated that the Council of Ministers entrusts the Authority for Partnership Projects between the Public and Private Sectors to exclusively establish one or more Kuwaiti shareholding companies based in Kuwait, whose objective is to recruit and organize the work of expatriate workers and their work affairs by supervising the process and procedures for their arrival and during their work period ensure the extent of their efficiency in the work assigned to them, in a way that guarantees their human rights.
The shares of this company or companies are to be allocated as follows: 24% of the shares are for the government and its affiliates, 26 % of the shares are put up for sale in a public auction in which the joint-stock company is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and 50% of the shares are allocated for public subscription to all citizens.
The proposal stipulated that the company should take care of organizing the work of recruiting workers and everything related to their employment affairs, and also indicated the method of contracting with them, provided that one of the company’s objectives is : Recruitment and employment of domestic workers to work inside the State of Kuwait in accordance with the provisions of the laws and regulating domestic workers employment prohibited for non-Kuwaiti workers unless they have a work card and are registered with the Public Authority of Manpower.
Further it is prohibited for the employer to employ non-Kuwaiti workers and non-citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries unless authorized by this company and in accordance with its executive regulations and the rules for regulating the provisions of work in this law, and the employer may not work, or individuals may not recruit workers from abroad without the company’s approval.
The sponsor’s system is suggested to be completely abolished, if it is replaced by the rules that the company determines and also provided that the concerned authorities in this regard are consulted previously to obtain their opinion on licenses, renewals and cancellation.
The company undertakes the procedures for replacing workers and advertisements for their employment abroad in cooperation with the relevant authorities locally and abroad. It manages examination programs and measures of quality, competency, health, fitness, and languages. The company will also issue the decisions regulating the issuance of work permits and cards. The proposal also stipulates that the company has the right to terminate employment that does not achieve feasibility in the labor market. The company will also be working to end everything related to lose employment.
Amending the election law, 3 deputies submitted a proposal to amend Article No. 45 of Law No. 35 of 1962 regarding the election of members of the National Assembly. The Representatives Majid Al-Mutairi, Hamed 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 embezzles, 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 specific 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 specific 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 basic principle in Kuwaiti legislation, 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 .
Also adding: 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, including penalties that represent a deterrent to anyone who tries to influence candidates or voters or cause a disruption of the entire electoral process.
The punishment referred to, for the offenses committed in the article was severe in the penalty of imprisonment, and it also included among the crimes punishable in the fifth clause of the article the criminalization of what is known as by-elections and consultative elections, although they are the first stages of exchanging ideas, policies, action plan and electoral program for the candidate through the meeting.
