No by-elections will be held for the three constituencies whose parliamentary representatives had their memberships revoked last week.
Parliament Speaker Ahmed Al Musallam yesterday said the chamber would continue its legislative work in line with the Constitution and internal regulations, despite the vacancies, adding that there are currently no plans to hold by-elections to fill the seats. The Speaker noted that the Constitution permits vacancies of up to 13 seats – a threshold that has not been reached.
He was speaking yesterday during an annual Press conference to highlight the legislature’s performance. On May 7, Parliament voted to revoke the memberships of Abdulnabi Salman, Mamdooh Al Saleh and Dr Mahdi Al Shuwaikh following a formal process that found they had breached their parliamentary duties and lost the trust and standing expected of MPs.
“The occurrence of vacancies in some parliamentary seats does not necessarily mean resorting to by-elections,” Mr Al Musallam said, stressing that Parliament’s internal regulations allow such situations to be handled within the applicable legal and regulatory frameworks.
The Speaker indicated that arrangements for the vacant constituencies would be announced in due course, emphasising that the Constitution stipulates a member of Parliament represents the entire nation, not just their electoral district.
On that basis, he suggested that ‘the representative geographically or administratively closest to those constituencies may be utilised in some organisational and service-related aspects’, ensuring that citizens in those areas continue to receive legislative attention and services.
Mr Al Musallam said that draft bills submitted individually by the members whose membership was revoked are no longer valid and have been withdrawn in accordance with established procedures.
He stressed that those proposals have ceased to exist as part of Parliament’s active legislative agenda.
“Any legislation or proposal submitted jointly with others continues to be valid,” he added.
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