Kuwaiti Government Resigns After Long-Running Battle With Parliament
CAIRO & KUWAIT CITY, Jan 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Kuwaiti government resigned Sunday following a long-running battle with parliament, house speaker Jassem al-Khorafi announced, stirring calls from opposition MPs for political reform within the ruling family.
"The government has resigned and I have been officially informed of it," Khorafi told reporters in parliament. "Crown Prince and Prime Minister Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah will submit the resignation to the emir."
Khorafi stressed there was no link between the resignation and the submission of a request on Saturday by an opposition MP to quiz the justice minister over alleged cover-ups by the emirate's judiciary and public prosecutors.
The speaker added he did not believe that parliament would be dissolved, but gave no specific reason for the resignation although observers have said that relations between the government and the parliament was at a freezing point.
The Islamist-dominated house has also expressed a desire for a reform that would involve the al-Sabah ruling family. Two leading opposition members of parliament said they wanted the power base of the ruling al-Sabah family reformed before a new cabinet is appointed.
"There are some frictions within the ruling establishment. Everyone knows about it and it has come to the surface. All political groups and MPs are demanding that this issue must be decisively resolved," veteran MP Adnan Abdul Samad said.
"What we need to do is arrange the ruling establishment before we form a new government. The problem lies at the top," he charged.
Kuwait has a vibrant parliament and MPs have been rigorous in their criticism of the government ever since Kuwait was liberated from Iraqi occupation in 1991.
MPs charge that the government has overlooked corruption cases. Reports from Kuwait say that the crisis follows a request from MPs to question Justice Minister Saad al-Hashel on four counts of alleged negligence. He is accused by MPs of not taking corruption cases seriously in his department.
Kuwait boasts the only legislative body among the Gulf Arab countries. The government, formed in July 1999 after general elections, has come under repeated attack in the country's elected parliament.
The country's ruler, Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah, has previously allowed the National Assembly to reform in 1981, but then dissolved it in 1986 as disagreements arose over its right to question the ability of ministers.
Kuwait is a small, oil-rich country with a population of two million. Oil dominates the economy, accounting for more than 90% of the emirates total exports.
