KUWAIT CITY: Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah decided to put on hold the resignation of the country’s Cabinet yesterday, leaving his options open for intervention to end a crippling crisis between the government and Parliament.
The Cabinet tendered its resignation as Parliament was about to look into a request by three legislators to question Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah over the visit of an Iranian cleric accused of offending Sunnis. The three deputies also wanted to question the prime minister over a wide range of accusations including alleged corruption and mismanagement in the world’s seventh-largest oil exporter.
State news agency KUNA said the emir ordered the ministers to carry out their duties pending a decision. After meeting the emir earlier yesterday, Parliament Speaker Jassim Al-Kharafi said Sheikh Sabah will not dissolve the house — an elected legislature dominated by popular politicians with a history of challenging the Cabinet. “I can confirm there will be no dissolution, constitutional or unconstitutional,” Jassim Al-Kharafi told reporters.
The uncertainty over the political crisis weighed on the country’s stock market, which briefly touched red territory after news of the resignation.
“Uncertainty is the worst thing. Markets don’t know whether economic reforms will be executed or not,” said Mustafa Behbehani, one of the directors at Gulf Consulting Co.
Major reforms have been delayed for years due to longstanding tensions between members of Parliament and the government.
The three lawmakers say the Iranian cleric offended Kuwait’s predominantly Sunni population with comments he made about some of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The Cabinet’s resignation was the latest crisis in the country’s political history. The Kuwaiti Parliament is regarded as one of the most democratic among the Gulf states but the insistence of some deputies to question the prime minister is a sensitive issue.
The emir or his predecessors have reshuffled governments or dissolved Parliament five times since 1976 to avoid grilling sessions and the votes of no-confidence that follow.
The last assembly dedicated much time to questioning ministers and there have been multiple changes in the government lineup over the past two years as a number of ministers have stepped down under parliamentary pressure.
Kuwait’s oil policy is managed by a council that includes members of the Cabinet, but changes in the government have no direct impact on the policy of the oil-exporting country.
