Dispute with parliament prompts resignation of Kuwaiti administration

In the most recent political impasse in the Gulf nation, Kuwait's cabinet quit just three months after it was formed.

According to the official news agency KUNA, the country's crown prince received the resignation of the prime minister's cabinet on Monday.

After dissolving the previous parliament to put a stop to squabbles that were impeding economic reforms, Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who has assumed most of the emir's responsibilities, appointed Sheikh Ahmad as premier and announced early legislative elections last year.

Recently, tensions between Kuwait's elected parliament and the newly-installed government reemerged as legislators pushed for a debt relief package that would have allowed the government to purchase the personal loans of Kuwaiti citizens and attempted to interview two ministers.

According to a cabinet statement cited by KUNA, the prime minister presented the government's resignation to the crown prince "as a result of what has become of the relationship between the executive and legislative authorities."

Tuesday had been set aside for the start of parliament.

In a tweet on Sunday, MP Shuaib al-Muwaizri, chair of the parliamentary committee on financial and economic matters, stated that personal debt relief would be considered until the government "formally proposes just alternatives" to raise wages, pensions, and social support for Kuwaitis.

The affluent Gulf nation that produces oil has been working to improve its financial situation as part of structural changes, including a debt bill that would enable the state to access foreign markets but has run into legislative impasse.

In Kuwait, which is largely dependent on oil earnings, has a vast welfare system, and a public sector that employs around 80% of its inhabitants, political squabbling has long impeded investment and reforms. Less than a third of Kuwait's 4.6 million inhabitants are Kuwaitis.

The country, which forbids political parties but has granted its legislature more power than comparable bodies in other Gulf monarchies, saw significant advances made by opposition figures in the September parliamentary elections.

The administration of Kuwait has made an effort to quell political unrest by giving in to important opposition requests, such as pardoning political dissidents, cracking down on alleged corruption, and reorganizing certain significant institutions.