Kuwait formally dissolves parliament

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal officially dissolved parliament late on Tuesday, paving the way for general elections in the next two months, according to a royal decree.

The decree was expected as the new government led by newly-appointed Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al Sabah took the oath of office also late on Tuesday. The Crown Prince said it was in the interest of national security to dissolve parliament after months of political infighting between the National Assembly and the government.

“To rectify the political scene involving a lack of harmony and co-operation, in addition to differences, conflicts, personal interests, failure to accept others, practices and behaviours that undermine national unity, it was a must to resort to the people who represent the destiny, extension, survival and existence so that they could rectify the path in a way that serves their supreme interests,” Sheikh Meshal said in the decree.

Constitutionally, general elections must be held within two months from the date of the decree dissolving the country's National Assembly. Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad, a son of ruling Emir Sheikh Nawaf, announced a new cabinet of 12 ministers on Monday, made up of the same ministers, apart from one, who had served under the embattled government of former prime minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al Sabah.

The previous government under the former prime minister faced several months of political feuding and tension with the country's national assembly. Several members of the cabinet, including the ministers of defence and foreign affairs, survived no-confidence votes in parliament.