Kuwaiti government submits resignation to emir, amid feud with parliament

Kuwait’s government has submitted its resignation to the emir, local media reported, in a move that could help end a long dispute between legislative and executive power in the country.

The resignation on Monday is the second time a government headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah has resigned this year in the feud with the elected parliament.

Prince Nawaf reassigned Sabah Khaled to form the government on January 24, after submitting the resignation of his government earlier in the same month.

The political system in Kuwait is one of the most “open” regimes in the Gulf region, where parliament has the power to pass legislation and question the prime minister and ministers’ decisions. But members of the ruling family hold high positions in government, and the emir has the final say in matters of state.

It was not immediately clear if Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah would accept the resignation of the cabinet this time, which was formed in March this year.

This resignation came after several opposition MPs have insisted on questioning the premier on various issues, including the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and corruption.

Lawmakers want to question Sheikh Sabah, who has been Kuwait’s premier since late 2019 and has doubted the constitutionality of a motion passed in March delaying any such questioning until the end of next year.

The feud has paralyzed boosting the OPEC member’s state finances, hit hard last year by low oil prices and the pandemic, and enacting measures including a debt law needed to tap global markets.

The government recently launched a dialogue with MPs to break the impasse, with the opposition demanding to be able to question Sheikh Sabah and an amnesty pardoning political dissidents.

Kuwait’s cabinet on Sunday approved draft decrees for the planned amnesty ahead of it being issued by a decree by the emir.