Kuwaiti emir accepts govt. resignation

Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah has accepted the resignation of the government, issuing a decree instructing the cabinet to stay on in a caretaker capacity.

Kuwait's official news agency KUNA reported on Tuesday that the resignation submitted by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid Al Sabah more than a month ago had been accepted by the Kuwaiti crown prince.

KUNA said the decree specified no timeline for when a new cabinet would be formed.

The resignation, submitted on April 5, came after a lengthy political dispute between the Kuwaiti government and parliament that hindered the implementation of fiscal reforms in the country.

Sheikh Sabah, a member of the ruling al-Sabah family and premier since 2019, has faced a combative legislature as the head of successive cabinets, with opposition lawmakers bent on questioning him over "unconstitutional" practices and corruption.

The country's last government was sworn in December last year and was the fourth in two years, after the previous one resigned in November.

Kuwait has given its parliament more influence than similar bodies in other Persian Gulf states, including the power to pass and block laws, question ministers, and submit no-confidence motions against senior government officials.

SS