Kuwait government submits resignation: sources

Kuwait City: The Kuwaiti cabinet submitted its resignation to the Emir on Monday, days after the top court nullified legislative elections, the private Al Rai television channel reported.

“The Kuwaiti cabinet submitted its resignation to the emir,” Al Rai announced, without giving further details.

The cabinet was formed just over four months ago following a February parliamentary election in which the opposition scored an impressive victory, achieving a majority.

It was the ninth cabinet to resign in the Opec member since February 2006. Two of the cabinet’s 16 ministers had been forced to quit over the past few weeks under pressure from MPs.

There has been no immediate word officially on the cabinet’s resignation.

It was formed by Shaikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah who replaced Shaikh Nasser Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah, both senior members of the ruling family, who was forced to step down in November by youth-led street protests.

The constitutional court, whose rulings are final, scrapped the February legislative election and reinstated the previous pro-government parliament, plunging the country into yet another political crisis.

Opposition members from the scrapped parliament rejected the court ruling and described it as “null and void,” insisting that the court has exceeded its mandate stipulated under the law.

The opposition also called on the court to reverse its decision and urged its supporters to demonstrate on Tuesday in protest against the ruling.

Kuwait, Opec’s fourth largest crude producer, has been rocked by a series of political crises over the past six years during which nine cabinets resigned and parliament was dissolved four times.

The state, which says it sits on around 10 per cent of global oil reserves, pumps around 3.0 million barrels per day of oil. It has a native population of 1.2 million besides 2.5 million foreign residents.