Kuwaiti government resigns

The Kuwaiti government has resigned in the wake of a standoff with opposition lawmakers. The government submitted its resignation letter to the emir, local dailies Al Qabas and Al-Rai reported on Monday.

The government has been at loggerheads with opposition lawmakers over the questioning of Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah in the country’s elected parliament. As part of its efforts to end the stalemate, the Kuwaiti government has submitted its resignation letter to Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah has resigned for the second time this year due to a dispute with the opposition in parliament. Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah has the power to make the final decision on the resignation. It was not immediately clear if he would accept the cabinet resignation.

The government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah, was formed in March following the resignation of the then-Kuwaiti government in January. According to Reuters, several opposition lawmakers have called on the Prime Minister to question various issues, including the Kovid-19 epidemic and anti-corruption measures.

Due to this dispute between the opposition and the government, making laws in the parliament came to a halt. In addition, the country was hit hard by the coronavirus epidemic and falling oil prices last year. Still, the government faced obstacles in passing a budget in parliament to keep the economy afloat.

Parliament’s stalemate with the Kuwaiti cabinet has been going on for decades, which has been resolved at various times by reshuffling the country’s government and dissolving parliament. However, investment and reform work was severely hampered.

Opposition lawmakers in the country’s parliament have called on Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah, who came to power in late 2019, to question corruption, the Corona epidemic, and the economic reform process. They also asked about the constitutional validity of a resolution passed in parliament in March.

In that proposal, any questioning of the Prime Minister was postponed till the end of next year. The country’s government has recently begun a dialogue with lawmakers to break the stalemate in parliament, with opposition groups demanding the interrogation of Sheikh Sabah and a general amnesty for political dissidents.

Kuwait’s cabinet on Sunday approved a draft general amnesty plan for political dissidents. The Kuwaiti government says the legislation has been stalled for months due to the government’s long standoff with opposition lawmakers. The cabinet has approved a draft amnesty for political dissidents to resolve the crisis.

Although Kuwait does not have the consent of any political party, its parliamentary powers are far greater than those of other Gulf monarchies. The country’s parliament has the ability to pass and block laws, interrogate ministers, and call for a no-confidence vote against senior government officials.