Kuwait cabinet nominates PM to replace ailing emir

By Haitham Haddadin

KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait’s parliament on Tuesday deposed
the Gulf Arab country’s ailing ruler on health grounds and the
cabinet nominated the prime minister as new emir.

The nomination of Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah ended the
political uncertainty which had gripped Kuwait since Sheikh
Saad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who is 76 and incapacitated by illness,
became emir on January 15 after the death of his cousin.

Sheikh Sabah, a cousin of Sheikh Saad, has already been de
facto ruler for four years because of the ill-health of both
the late emir and Sheikh Saad.

Parliament voted unanimously to remove Sheikh Saad shortly
before receiving his abdication letter, parliamentarians said.

“After listening to the medical report, the assembly with
its 65 members agreed to remove him from the post of emir,”
parliament speaker Jassem al-Kharafi told reporters.

Justice Minister Ahmad Baqer told Reuters an official
letter with Sheikh Sabah’s nomination would be sent to
parliament on Wednesday and that he expected a voting session
to be held on Sunday or Monday.

Tuesday’s vote was a rare assertion of parliamentary muscle
against a hereditary ruler in the Arab world, even though
Kuwait’s ruling family had agreed Sheikh Saad should step down.

Analysts hailed the vote as a triumph for the rule of law
in a region dominated by autocratic governments.

IMPORTANCE OF CONSTITUTION

“What happened today is positive, and goes beyond resolving
a crisis. Everybody felt the importance of the constitution and
parliament, including the ruling family,” former MP Abdulla
al-Naibari told Reuters.

“Today, Kuwait has rid itself of tribal and social
constraints,” added analyst Mohammed al-Jassem. “The
constitution alone now governs the politics of Kuwait.”

Kharafi said there were no conditions attached to the
emir’s abdication letter, which he said had arrived after the
vote had taken place.

“Even though his Highness the emir has decided to step
down, he is still in the hearts of all Kuwait’s people and we
have a lot of love, appreciation and respect for him,” Kharafi
said.

“This is God’s will and there’s nothing to do except to
wish him to get well and to have complete rest,” he added.

Sheikh Sabah has strong support within the ruling family
but his accession would interrupt a tradition of alternating
power between the two rival branches of the al Sabah dynasty.

Sheikh Sabah, if confirmed by parliament, is expected to
maintain Kuwait’s oil policy and the pro-Western stance of the
country which holds about 10 percent of the world’s crude
reserves.

The succession crisis has forced parliament to put off
indefinitely regular business that includes a debate on an $8.5
billion plan to boost oil output with the help of foreign
firms.

Sheikh Sabah and the late emir hail from the family’s Jaber
branch which holds a number of key ministries, while Sheikh
Saad is from the Salem wing, whose only other cabinet post is
that of foreign minister.

(Additional reporting by Inal Ersan in Dubai)