Kuwait dissolves parliament, sets May election
Middle East Desk Report

KUWAIT—Kuwait’s ruler dissolved parliament on Wednesday, lawmakers said, after a political crisis forced the government of the Gulf Arab oil exporter to resign.
They said that the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, will set a fresh election for May. Jassem al-Kharafi, speaker of the dissolved house, had been informed of the decision but state media had yet to publish the official decree, they added.
The standoff had paralyzed political life and delayed crucial economic reforms in the major OPEC producer and key U.S. ally. Lawmakers said Sheikh Sabah, who has the last say in Kuwaiti politics, would announce the dissolution and call a new poll in a televised address later on Wednesday.
“The decree is expected tonight,” Deputy Speaker Mohamed al-Bosairi told reporters. The decision followed the resignation of the government on Monday, less than a year after it was sworn in, complaining of a lack of cooperation from an assembly that has repeatedly challenged ministers.
The cabinet resignation left Sheikh Sabah with two options under the Kuwaiti constitution: to call for the formation of a new cabinet or to dissolve parliament and call a new election within two months. The parliament has been dissolved four times in the former British protectorate since 1963. Sheikh Sabah’s predecessors suspended the assembly for six years in 1986 and five years in 1976.
The emir cut short a holiday to Morocco and returned late on Tuesday to deal with the crisis, holding urgent consultations with Kharafi, Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Sabah and Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah. “This is a wrong decision,” Mohammad Jassem al-Saqr, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee told Al Jazeera television by telephone from Beirut.
The emir had repeatedly urged deputies and the government to work together for the sake of the country, but to little avail. Kuwait’s stock market rallied to an all-time high on Wednesday on investor hopes that a new assembly would endorse economic reform plans. The main index rose 1.5 percent to 14,450.40 points. Kuwait wants to diversify its economy away from oil to emulate the success of Gulf neighbors Dubai or Bahrain which have become regional financial centers. Parliament had made progress approving long-awaited reforms such as a reduction in taxes on foreign firms and privatization of the loss-making national airline.
But tensions flared again on Sunday when lawmakers demanded another pay rise for public sector employees who comprise more than 90 percent of working Kuwaitis. The demands put parliament on a collision course with the government which had raised state salaries in February to counter high inflation.
A bill to set up a financial regulator and open up the stock market to more foreign investment has been stalled in parliament. Deputies have also forced the cabinet to set up a fund to buy back bad debts Kuwaiti nationals incurred from shopping sprees, in a blow to plans to reduce dependence on the state. Kuwait has yet to name an oil minister to replace Badr al-Humaidhi, who resigned days after his appointment in November under pressure from hostile deputies.