KUWAIT: Kuwait's ruler on Thursday asked outgoing Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to form a new government, state news agency KUNA said, in a move that may ease a political crisis.Sheikh Jaber must now select a 15-member Cabinet, after which analysts expect Kuwait's ruler to dissolve Parliament in order to allow fresh elections, widely expected to be held after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which starts around July 19.
The previous government, also headed by Sheikh Jaber, resigned last month after Kuwait's constitutional court dissolved a Parliament dominated by Islamist-led opposition lawmakers and reinstated its more government-friendly predecessor instead. The government took its oath of office in front of the dissolved Parliament, meaning its activities had technically become unconstitutional and hence had to step down.
The reappointment of Sheikh Jaber was a widely expected move and the new Cabinet is unlikely to be different from the previous one, analysts and lawmakers said.
"Probably there will not be new ministers ... because this was just an exceptional decision to resolve the problem," said lawmaker Saleh Ashour. The new Cabinet should take an oath of office at the reinstated Parliament.
Such a move could prove difficult as majority of the 50-elected-member assembly have said they are boycotting the reinstated Parliament, which was tarnished by corruption allegations, analyst said.
"The most likely scenario is that the reinstated Parliament would not be able to convene in the absence of a quorum, then the emir will have to dissolve Parliament and new parliamentary elections will be held," said political analyst Ghanim Al-Najjar.
The last such elections in the US-allied OPEC oil producer were in February. Analysts said a new cabinet could be formed by next week, though there is no deadline for government formation in Kuwait's constitution and it could drag on for longer than that.