Kuwait’s Government Resigns Over Harsh Criticism

This morning, the Kuwait’s Cabinet announced its resignation and submitted it to the Emir Sheikh Jaber Al Sheikh Sabah Al Sabah.

The move came just days after Jenan Ramadan, the minister of public works, announced that she would step down after being harshly criticized by parliament of the Gulf country.

Earlier, lawmakers had acutely accused Ramadan, who also serves as minister of state for housing, of failing to fix infrastructure and roads which were damaged during massive floods that swept the country last year.

According to local media, ten lawmakers had filed a no-confidence motion against her.

In return to the criticism, Ramadan claimed that her ministry are challenged by long-running problems, and argued she should not be held responsible for issues that precede her time as minister.

According to Associated press, an effort was reportedly underway in the parliament to request to grill the country’s powerful Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Shiekh Khaled Al Jarrah Al Sabah.

The government in Kuwait has resigned in the past, particularly when faced with no-confidence votes and requests to grill members of the ruling Al Sabah family, AP reported.

The country’s parliamentary elections are expected in early 2020.

Later, AFP quoted lawmakers that the resignation happened amid accusation of public fund misuse and disputes among ministers.

on his part, Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim said he doesn’t believe the emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, intends to dissolve the legislature, according to the official KUNA news agency.

According to Bloomberg, government resignations followed by the dissolution of parliament and fresh elections aren’t unusual in OPEC-member Kuwait, and have mostly been triggered by clashes between lawmakers and cabinet ministers.