Outgoing Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Al-Humoud Al-Sabah held on to his posts and also took over the Defense Ministry, state media said.

Oil Minister Mohammad Al-Busairi and Finance Minister Mustapha Al-Shamali also held on to their posts, as did Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah and Trade Minister Amani Bouresli.

The Cabinet will oversee elections of a new Parliament after emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah dissolved the assembly following the government's resignation. The constitution says that the vote has to be held within 60 days of the dissolution.

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah and his government quit last month, bowing to escalating demands by protesters and opposition deputies that he step down over corruption allegations.

The country has long prided itself on having a fully elected Parliament, but has suffered a long-running standoff between the government and Parliament.

Tensions boiled over last month when opposition lawmakers and protesters stormed Parliament demanding Sheikh Nasser's resignation after a request by MPs to question him was blocked by the government and its backers in the assembly.

During the former prime minister's five years in office, the Cabinet was reshuffled seven times and the emir dissolved Parliament three times.

Twelve opposition activists handed themselves in to police Wednesday after they were summoned for questioning over the storming Parliament, their lawyer said. Three others were expected to surrender later, said lawyer Al-Humaidi Al-Subaie, who added that a total of 59 activists had been summoned for questioning over the incident.

Forty-four activists have already been questioned, some of them detained for several days before they were all freed on bail of $3,600 each.

The prosecutor is expected to interrogate the men on charges of storming Parliament, damaging public property and assaulting police, said Subaie, who heads the legal team defending the men.

In a related development, former Kuwaiti MP Saleh Ashour has been detained for refusing to pay a $18,000 bail after he was questioned by the prosecutor on corruption charges, his lawyer said.

"He refused to pay the bail because he believes the charges against him are baseless and the prosecutor did not provide solid evidence to prove the charge," Ali Al-Ali said.