Kuwait Govt Sets Date for First Session of New National Assembly

Kuwaitis cast their votes at a polling station to cast their votes, during the parliamentary elections Kuwait City, Kuwait, on 29 September 2022. (EPA)
Kuwaitis cast their votes at a polling station to cast their votes, during the parliamentary elections Kuwait City, Kuwait, on 29 September 2022. (EPA)
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Kuwait Govt Sets Date for First Session of New National Assembly

Kuwaitis cast their votes at a polling station to cast their votes, during the parliamentary elections Kuwait City, Kuwait, on 29 September 2022. (EPA)
Kuwaitis cast their votes at a polling station to cast their votes, during the parliamentary elections Kuwait City, Kuwait, on 29 September 2022. (EPA)

The Kuwaiti government held an extraordinary session on Saturday to set the date for the first meeting of the newly-elected National Assembly.

The parliament will meet for the first time on October 11.

The government then submitted its resignation following the announcement of this week’s elections results.

The results were announced on Friday, introducing a 54 percent change in the legislature.

Only 12 lawmakers were reelected to their posts in the 50-member legisalture.

Opposition lawmakers made gains, while pro-government MPs were dealt shocking defeats.

Deputies representing the Islamic Constitutional Movement - Hadas (Muslim Brotherhood) won seats. The victors included: Osama Issa Al-Shaheen (first constituency), Hamad Muhammad Al-Matar (second district), and Abdulaziz Al-Saqabi (third constituency).

The Salafist movement achieved a remarkable win with the return of MP Muhammad Hayef to the National Assembly after his loss in the previous elections. Adel Al-Damkhi, Fahd Al-Masoud and Hamad Al-Obeid also won seats.

The entire Bloc of Five, consisting of Hassan Gohar, Abdullah Al-Mudhaf, Badr Al-Mulla, Muhalhal Al-Mudhaf, and Muhannad Al-Sayer, also won with a high number of votes in their constituencies.

About nine Shiite deputies, distributed in various electoral districts and political blocs, won seats, including two independents, Osama Al-Zayd and Jenan Boushehri.

Former National Assembly Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun claimed a landslide victory, receiving more than 12,200 votes in the third constituency - the highest in the country.



Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa received a delegation from Bahrain on Wednesday and met with the Bahraini foreign minister, state media reported.

The visit was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic overtures by Arab countries to Syria’s new leaders after they overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

Like other Gulf countries, Bahrain had cut off diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad’s rule during the Syrian civil war, but it reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018 and gradually restored ties with the Assad government.

Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit, and days after Assad’s ouster it had sent a message to al-Sharaa offering its cooperation with the new authorities and saying, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.”