KUWAIT CITY, June 25:  The Cabinet submitted Monday its resignation to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to pave the way for the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decision to nullify the 2012 parliamentary election results and to reinstate the 2009 National Assembly.
Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah explained the resignation of the government is necessary to guarantee the proper implementation of the court’s ruling.  He said if the Amir accepts the resignation, the appointment of a new prime minister will follow and then the new government will be formed.  He added the new government will take its oath before the 2009 Parliament immediately after being sworn in by the Amir.

Sheikh Mohammad pointed out the resignation of the government is inevitable as it became unconstitutional after the nullification of the parliamentary membership of Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, who was appointed State Minister for Housing and National Assembly Affairs from the 2012 National Assembly, not the reinstated Parliament.

Meanwhile, sources revealed discussions on the resignation of the government started immediately after the meeting between the Amir, the Prime Minister and National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi.  Sources said Al-Khorafi intends to hold a consultative meeting with the lawmakers, including those who resigned, before convening the reinstated Parliament.  Sources added the Speaker also discussed the recent incidents and ways to implement the court ruling with some MPs.

Moreover, sources said HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak will most likely be reappointed and he will probably choose the same ministers.  Sources asserted it will not take more than 10 days for the new premier to appoint his ministers, while the Parliament has several options.  Sources pointed out the legislature may convene for the oath-taking of the new government and approval of the State budget to be followed by the postponement of the legislative round until October; or it can be dissolved and then the State budget will be passed through a decree.  Sources added if the second scenario occurs, the election should not coincide with the Eid holidays and opening of schools; so it will most likely happen by the end of September or beginning of October but it all depends on the decision of the Amir.

Agencies add:
Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah said the government was dealing with the public in an open and transparent way and “this is why I’m updating you on the latest developments of the ministerial committee.” “The new measures are to be announced by the reshuffled government; the ministerial committee has no mandate to unveil such measures which take stock of the advice of legal and constitutional experts,” he explained.

“The experts affirmed that the measures we are taking are sound, unlikely to repeat former mistakes, and in keeping with the provisions of the constitution of Kuwait. We set precedence for the future generation in how to deal with constitutional problems,” Sheikh Mohammad went on.

The Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that the procedures to implement Decree No. 443 dissolving the parliament of 2009 were legally incorrect, thereby the parliament has to be reinstated.
“This ruling is a compelling reason for the government to resign because we felt that if we make any move relating to its implementation, this move can be liable to a legal challenge on the grounds that it was made by an irrelevant body.

“The verdict noted that the former parliament was dissolved by an irrelevant government which means that the then government had no legal mandate to raise a decree in this regard; so we felt a compelling need to resign in order to avoid repeating old mistakes,” Sheikh Mohammad revealed.

Asked whether the resignation of the government was an attempt toforestall the call by some outgoing MPs for a public mass rally tomorrow, Sheikh Mohammad said his government which entered its 142nd day is setting precedence in compliance with the provisions of the constitution.

“The country is undergoing a legal problem which has political dimensions; this is the first such situation in Kuwait and the Gulf region. All of us have to abide by the provisions of the constitution and put the interests of our nation above our own personal interests in order to defuse the political tension,” he stressed.

In response to a question about the planned set-up of the coming cabinet, Sheikh Mohammad said Article 56 of the Constitution states that His Highness the Amir has the authority to name or sack a prime minister and cabinet members after routine consultations, adding: “I have no knowledge about and cannot guess the coming cabinet set-up.”

“The resigning government will hand the coming one all necessary information including today’s report which is the outcome of 23-hour long effort made by the ministerial committee since Thursday,” he pledged.

“The ministerial committee recommended during its recent meetings that the coming government will swear the oath of office twice, one before HH the Amir as usual and another before the National Assembly,” he disclosed.

“The first oath taking is meant to enable the government to exercise its executive jurisdiction; the second one is necessary for the government to exercise a legislative mandate,” he explained.

The minister noted that the resignation of the government is a precautionary move aiming to protect “the constitutional and legitimate gains” in keeping with the ruling of the Constitutional Court.

Commenting on the remarks, recently made by the majority of the MPs of the 2012 parliament, Sheikh Mohammad said: “I totally respect all views in this regard but we have a clear constitution, specifically Article 50, which sets forth a mechanism for the relationships among the three authorities — the executive, the legislative and the judiciary authority.” “The views of opponents and proponents relating to the recent court ruling express no more than personal convictions; it’s illogical to reject a verdict or question the legitimacy of a court,” he said, urging everybody to respect the judiciary authority.

The minister did not rule out the possibility of the parliament of 2009 to convene a session after the cabinet resignation, saying there were similar instances in the past.

As for the planned rallies, he said the freedom of expression is enshrined in the constitution, so the citizens are entitled to hold peaceful rallies wherever they like, adding: “We are proud of our constitution and cannot accept any infringement on these principles.” “The government has plans to deal with any violation of law or any infringement on public or private property. The security services will keep vigilant around the clock to ensure the safety and security of the people and the state,” he made clear.

The Cabinet was formed just over four months ago following a February parliamentary election in which the opposition scored an impressive victory, achieving a majority.

It was the ninth Cabinet to resign since February 2006. Two of the Cabinet’s 16 ministers had been forced to quit over the past few weeks under pressure from MPs.

It was formed by Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah who replaced Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, both senior members of the ruling family.

Sheikh Nasser was forced to step down in November by youth-led street protests.

Opposition members from the scrapped Parliament rejected the court ruling and described it as “null and void,” insisting that the court has exceeded its mandate stipulated under the law.

The opposition also called on the court to reverse its decision and urged its supporters to demonstrate on Tuesday in protest against the ruling.

Kuwait, OPEC’s fourth largest crude producer, has been rocked by a series of political crises over the past six years during which nine Cabinets resigned and Parliament was dissolved four times.

The country, which says it sits on around 10 percent of global oil reserves, pumps around three million barrels per day of oil. It has a native population of 1.2 million besides 2.5 million foreign residents.

Analysts say a struggle over opposition demands for reforms that would make the Gulf Arab state a full parliamentary democracy — with governments chosen by the majority blocs in the assembly — is at the heart of the crisis.

Last week, politicians from the outgoing assembly raised the stakes in their standoff with the government, which is dominated by the ruling Al-Sabah family, when they said that a “full parliamentary system” had become a necessity.

The politicians have been pushing for an elected government to loosen the Al-Sabah family’s grip on power in Kuwait, where thousands of US troops are stationed.

Kuwait has not seen the kind of mass popular protests that forced four Arab heads of state out of office since last year.

But there were regular demonstrations last year, including one in November in which hundreds of angry men stormed Parliament to press for the sacking of the prime minister amid allegations of corruption, which he denied.

The Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, later sacked the prime minister, his nephew, and dissolved Parliament.

The storming of the Parliament triggered a criminal investigation in which 68 people, including nine MPs, were indicted on charges including attacking police officers.

A Kuwaiti court, which began hearing the case on Monday, decided that eight MPs from the previous assembly still enjoy parliamentary immunity and could not be tried.