Speaker meets Amir, says parliament will not be dissolved

KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem meets HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday. — KUNA

KUWAIT: It looks almost certain that the government will submit its resignation before its weekly meeting on Monday to pave the way for forming a new government, parliamentary and government sources said yesterday. National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem told reporters after meeting HH the Amir yesterday that the government will not attend the next Assembly session scheduled for next Tuesday "whether through resignation or any other measure".

But the speaker squashed reports speculating that the Assembly will be dissolved, saying that he believes this will not happen. The fast-paced developments yesterday came as more lawmakers declared their support for a no-confidence motion filed against Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and acting Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah following a marathon grilling on the Assembly's opening day on Tuesday.

Around 22 lawmakers have publicly said they will support the motion, just three short of the 25 votes required to oust Sheikh Mohammad, a senior member of the ruling family, from his post. The developments came as more MPs said they will file to grill more ministers. MPs Faisal Al-Kandari and Omar Al-Tabtabaei said they will file to grill Oil Minister Essam Al-Marzouq today over alleged violations, while a number of other MPs said they will file to grill Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Sabeeh. MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei also threatened to grill Defense Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah.

HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah is highly expected to be renamed to form the new Cabinet after the Amir officially accepts the government resignation. If the government resigns, it will be doing so barely after one year of its formation following the parliamentary election in November last year in which the opposition made a strong showing.

Earlier this year, a grilling forced former information minister and state minister for sports and youth Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah to step down as the first victim of the post-election Cabinet. It was not immediately known whether the ministers who were grilled or threatened of grilling will be retained in the new Cabinet.

Ghanem however told reporters that he was not officially informed of any decisions, adding that his personal expectations after meeting the Amir was that the Assembly will not be dissolved and that the government is not expected to attend the next session. He said he held meetings yesterday with 21 MPs to discuss the developments and that he will call for an informal meeting with MPs in his office next week.

Ghanem said filing to grill ministers is the lawmakers' right guaranteed under the constitution, but these should be deemed as minor things compared to the need of safeguarding national interests when "we as a country and a society are threatened with something big".

By B Izzak