Alwaght- The Kuwaiti cabinet handed over its resignation after the parliamentary elections in the country that secured a good share of the seats for opposition figures.
Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah received the resignation from Prime Minister Jaber al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah during a ceremony at Bayan Palace in Kuwait City on Monday.
The elections for the 50-seat parliament in Kuwait ended yesterday with opposition party and its allies winning nearly half of the seats.
"As the elections were transparently and impartially held and all the results were officially announced, I hand in the government’s resignation in accordance with Article 57 of the Constitution,” part of the letter of resignation read.
Emir Sheikh Sabah should now appoint the new prime minister who traditionally will be either the outgoing prime minister or another member of the ruling family. He then should form a new cabinet that will hold its first session within next two weeks.
On October 16, the Kuwaiti emir announced the dissolution of parliament and early elections on November 26 in the face of “circumstances in the region and security challenges.”
Political analysts have linked Kuwait’s election results to the political wrangling between the government and parliament over austerity measures, which include cuts in many of the perks that citizens have enjoyed for decades and a sharp increase in petrol prices.
