January 23, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 22, 1426

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 22: Kuwait’s parliament agreed on Sunday to hold a swearing-in session for the ailing Amir amid signs the government is giving him more time to abdicate before working to remove their new ruler from power. Amir Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah had asked for parliament to convene on Sunday to enable him to take the oath of office but no date for the oath-taking was set.

Speaker Jasem al-Khorafi told reporters after meeting MPs that “given that time is too short to call the session this evening, I asked for an appointment to consult with, and listen to, the instructions of his highness about a (different) time he would choose to take the oath.”

The cabinet, headed by powerful Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, decided on Saturday to initiate constitutional procedures to remove Sheikh Saad on grounds of ill health.

He only became Amir on the death of Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah a week ago.

Khorafi said he had still not received a letter from the cabinet informing him of its decision to start moves to remove the Amir.

The postponement of both the swearing-in session and the sending of the cabinet’s letter to parliament suggested attempts were still under way to find a way out of the political crisis.

A statement issued after a cabinet meeting on Sunday said the government examined measures related to the implementation of a 1964 law which makes it possible to remove the Amir on health grounds.

Sheikh Sabah, who has been de facto ruler of oil-rich Kuwait for several years, has been tipped by most members of the ruling Al-Sabah family to replace Sheikh Saad.

A government official had earlier told AFP that the cabinet would ask parliament on Sunday to hold a special session to remove the Amir after last-ditch efforts apparently failed to persuade him to step down.—AFP