Al-Khorafi ‘confident’ of election success

KUWAIT: Former Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi expressed pride in “the democracy that Kuwait enjoys,” which he says allows for “different opinions to be expressed.” He said democracy was something that requires an ability to “respect different opinions at the same time.” Al-Khurafi made these statements on Sunday while attending the Omani embassy’s national day celebrations. He recognized the right of those planning to boycott the elections as also the right of citizens who are “not thrilled with the boycott” to take part in voting. While reiterating that the upcoming elections was not the first time when polls were being boycotted in Kuwait’s history – “after all, some did boycott the 1971 elections” – Al-Khurafi stressed his belief that the wide scale boycott announced by the majority of political groups “would not affect the elections and was no reason for concern since this is a democracy.” “The elections are going to happen and a large number of candidates have registered,” Al-Khurafi, who is not running for parliament, said. He expressed optimism that the next parliament will be successful but recognized “the huge responsibility placed on the shoulders of voters to elect the best candidate qualified to represent them.”

Read by 508