KUWAIT CITY, May 16: Kuwait plunged into a political crisis on Tuesday as opposition lawmakers appeared headed to quiz the prime minister following a controversial vote in parliament on an electoral reform bill.
“We have taken a united position regarding the questioning of the prime minister, but a final decision will be made this evening,” Islamist MP Faisal al Muslim told reporters after a meeting of 29 opposition lawmakers.
A bid to grill Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al Ahmad al Sabah, a member of the ruling family, could set the stage either for the dismissal of the cabinet or the dissolution of parliament by the amir.
The meeting of opposition pro-reform MPs was held after parliament passed a controversial motion to refer the electoral reform bill to the constitutional court. Some 30 reformist lawmakers boycotted the session and crowds were barred.
Thirty-three MPs, including 15 ministers, voted in favour of the motion submitted by conservative and tribal lawmakers.
The tabling of the motion on Monday triggered a noisy walkout by reformist MPs in scenes unprecedented in the country.
Only parliament speaker Jassem al Khorafi voted against the motion.
Following the vote, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Daifallah Sharar said the government was prepared to discuss a compromise formula with the opposition.
Education Minister Adel al Tabtabai was the only cabinet member who did not attend the session.
Confusion also prevailed over the reported resignation of Communications Minister Ismail al Shatti, a leading member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement, Kuwait’s chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Although the minister denied he had resigned, ICM spokesman and MP Nasser al Sane said Shatti informed the movement of his resignation.
“The ICM would like to announce that it is no longer represented in the government,” Mr Sane, one of the 29 opposition MPs, told reporters.
The reformist lawmakers and dozens of citizens gathered on Tuesday morning outside parliament, where hundreds of members of elite special forces armed with batons were deployed to stop the public from entering.
After their meeting, opposition MPs vowed they will not cooperate with the government.
“It is no longer possible to deal with this government which voted to send the election bill to court,” opposition MP Mussallam al Barrak said.
Under the Kuwaiti constitution, MPs have no powers to vote the entire government or the prime minister out of office. They can only declare they are unable to cooperate with the government.
In this situation, the amir can either dismiss the premier and appoint a new cabinet, or dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections within two months.
Opposition MPs have a sufficient majority to declare parliament’s non-cooperation with the government because in this situation ministers, who are ex-officio members of the chamber, cannot vote.
Parliament has 50 elected members.
The reformers walked out on Monday when voting began on the motion to refer to the constitutional court the government-backed bill reducing the number of constituencies from 25 to 10.
The reformist MPs want to go further and slash the number of constituencies to five in a bid to fight vote-buying and other irregularities they say marred Kuwait’s last election in 2003.—AFP
KUWAIT CITY, May 16: Kuwait plunged into a political crisis on Tuesday as opposition lawmakers appeared headed to quiz the prime minister following a controversial vote in parliament on an electoral reform bill.
