KUWAIT CITY, 17 May 2006 — Kuwait was plunged into political crisis yesterday as opposition lawmakers decided to quiz the prime minister following a controversial vote in Parliament on an electoral reform bill.
“We have decided to question the prime minister,” MP Mohammed Al-Saqr told hundreds of Kuwaitis who gathered after Parliament passed a controversial motion to refer an electoral reform bill to the constitutional court.
The bid to grill Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, could set the stage either for the dismissal of the Cabinet or the dissolution of Parliament by the emir.
“The questioning would be withdrawn only if the government backs off and presents the (electoral reform) bill of five constituencies,” Saqr said.
He named the three MPs lined up to quiz the prime minister as Ahmad Al-Saadoun, Ahmed Al-Muleifi and Faisal Al-Muslim, an Islamist.
The opposition MPs should present their request to Parliament speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi who in turn would inform the premier and choose a date for the questioning in the Parliament. Some 30 reformist lawmakers had boycotted yesterday’s Parliament session which passed the controversial motion. Crowds were barred from approaching the house.
Thirty-three MPs, including 15 Cabinet ministers, voted in favor of the motion submitted by conservative and tribal lawmakers.
The tabling of the motion on Monday triggered a noisy walkout by reformist MPs in scenes unprecedented in the emirate.
Only the Parliament speaker voted against the motion yesterday.
Following the vote, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Daifallah Sharar said the government was prepared to discuss a compromise formula with the opposition.
Confusion also prevailed over the reported resignation of Communications Minister Ismail Al-Shatti, a leading member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM. Although the minister denied he had resigned, ICM spokesman and MP Nasser Al-Sane said Shatti had informed the movement of his decision to resign.
