Manama: Kuwait’s parliament suspended its session on Tuesday in the absence of government ministers, who have seats in the legislative body by default.
Speaker Ali Al Rashid told the lawmakers that the government would not attend the session and that he was therefore adjourning it to Wednesday.
The government’s absence was expected after five lawmakers filed two separate motions to grill the oil and interior ministers for alleged irregularities in their ministries.
The formal moves to quiz the ministers ended months of apparent agreement between the government and the parliament over a string of issues.
Options available to the government in dealing with the unexpected development included boycotting the parliament sessions, suspending the parliament sessions for one month and filing a no-cooperation with the parliament motion.
The suspension of the parliament sessions for four weeks as per Article 106 of the Kuwaiti constitution means the lawmakers would resume their debates on June 19 unless the Constitutional Court on a much-anticipated ruling on June 16 rules that the current parliament is unconstitutional and calls for fresh elections.
MPs said that they were shocked by the decision of the government not to attend the session and push its ministers to assume their responsibilities.
“This is a golden opportunity to make a reshuffle,” MP Yousuf Al Zalzalah said. “If there is no wish by a minister to confront the parliament, [only] he should resign, and not all the cabinet ministers,” he said.
The parliament was elected in December after the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, ruled that the elections of the legislative house in February were not constitutional.
