Kuwaiti government submits resignation

Move comes days after court nullified outcome of February elections

KUWAIT CITY (Reuters) – Kuwait’s cabinet submitted its resignation to the Gulf state’s ruler on Monday in a move some parliamentarians believe could be a first step out of the latest crisis that has stalled legislation and blocked reforms in the major oil producer.

The government’s resignation came days after a top court annulled a February parliamentary election that gave the Islamist-led opposition a majority, ruling that a previous more government-friendly assembly should replace it instead.

The current government took its oath of office in front of the dissolved parliament, meaning its activities had technically become unconstitutional.

The cabinet resigned “in order to complete all the constitutional procedures for implementing the constitutional court decision,” Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Mubarak al-Sabah told a news conference.

“Our aim is to establish correct constitutional principles so there are no reasons for future legal challenges,” he said, adding the next step, if the ruler accepted the government’s resignation, was to appoint a prime minister who would form a new cabinet.

The latest twist in Kuwait’s political crisis could prove positive in the long run, said Saleh Ashour, a member of parliament reinstated by the court ruling.

“The resignation of the government could be one way out of the crisis,” he said.

A newly formed cabinet could take an oath of office at the reinstated parliament, then resign, paving the way for fresh parliamentary elections, Ashour said. The last such elections in the US ally were in February.

Analysts said any new elections were likely to be held after Ramadan, which starts either on July 19 or 20, depending on the moon sighting.

The court ruling, which came only two days after the emir suspended parliament for a month to avert a looming crisis, was rejected by the opposition as a “coup against the constitution.”

The country has had eight governments in six years amid political upheaval that has prevented any major economic reforms in the OPEC member state, which needs to diversify its economy away from oil according to policy-makers.