On 24 May 2026, the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, issued an Emiri decree containing Law No. (57) of 2026, amending the Kuwait Municipality Law No. 33 of 2016. This amendment completely transformed the formation of the Municipal Council from a mixed system combining election and appointment to one of appointment only.

This amendment abolished the previous system, under which the Municipal Council consisted of 16 members: 10 elected members representing electoral districts and six members appointed by Emiri decree.

The amendment also included conditions for eligible candidates, primarily that applicants be Kuwaiti citizens by birth. This effectively prevents a large number of citizens, as well as residents and migrant workers, from being appointed.

This new repressive law comes after Kuwait witnessed a sharp decline in its human rights record over the past two years, following the dissolution of the National Assembly by the Emir in May 2014 and the revocation of citizenship from tens of thousands of citizens, mostly women and children, who overnight found their civil and human rights confiscated in the country where they grew up.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) condemns the Kuwaiti authorities for enacting this unjust law, which deprives a group of citizens, as well as residents and foreign workers, of their legitimate right to political participation and discriminates against them.

GCHR calls on the Kuwaiti government to conduct an immediate and transparent review, in accordance with international laws and standards, of all legal texts that infringe upon citizens’ public freedoms and replace them with others that promote human rights.