The move comes days after the legislature tabled a motion asking them to question the prime minister on issues such as the composition of the cabinet.
The Kuwaiti cabinet passed its resignation to Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah just a month after the government was formed and just days after lawmakers filed a motion questioning the prime minister on issues such as the composition of the cabinet .
The resignation of the cabinet formed on December 14th on Tuesday was expected after parliament moved earlier this month, which marked the first political challenge for the new emir as the country faces its worst economic crisis in decades.
The Prime Minister was due to be interviewed at a parliamentary session on January 19th.
Sheikh Sabah has to submit the resignations to the ruler of the OPEC member state, Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah, for approval. Three leading Kuwaiti newspapers report that this is what is expected of him.
The Government Communications Office (CGC) in Kuwait said the government had tabled but not specified its resignation “in view of developments in the relationship between the National Assembly and the government and reasons that might justify the national interest.”
His Highness Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers, today received his Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah and His Excellency the Ministers. 80sk8iM1wF
– Government Communication Center (@CGCKuwait) January 12, 2021
Translation: Today His Highness Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister, received his Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah, at the Seif Palace, where he resigned to His Highness all cabinet members.
The motion to question Sheikh Sabah, who has been Prime Minister since late 2019, was tabled by three MPs on January 5 in the first ordinary session of a new assembly in which the opposition made gains after two-thirds of legislators lost seats in general elections last year.
More than 30 other MPs backed requests to question him on issues including the formation of a cabinet that “does not reflect” the poll results and allegations of government “interference” in the election of the speaker and members of parliamentary committees, so the request of the Reuters news agency.
Kuwait has the most open political system in the Gulf region, with a parliament that has the power to pass laws and question ministers, although executive positions are held by ruling family members.
Frequent disputes and blockades between the cabinet and parliament have led to successive reshuffles and dissolution of the parliament’s government, which hindered investment as well as economic and tax reforms.
The recent stalemate is complicating the government’s efforts to address a severe liquidity crisis caused by low oil prices and COVID-19 by enforcing a debt law that is facing a legal deadlock.
The emir has the last word on state affairs and the successor to Sheikh Nawaf after the death of his brother last September had raised hopes for a relaxation between the ruling family and their critics in parliament.
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