Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah has reappointed Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah as prime minister, after the cabinet resigned last week in a standoff with parliament over its vote to question the premier, the state news agency KUNA reported on Sunday.
Sheikh Nawaf tasked Sheikh Sabah with nominating a new cabinet for approval.
The barely one month-old government had been acting in a caretaker role since it resigned over the confrontation with parliament. The situation has complicated efforts to tackle a severe liquidity crunch in the wealthy OPEC member state caused by low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic.
Frequent rows and deadlocks between cabinet and the elected assembly have led to successive government reshuffles and dissolutions of parliament over decades, hampering investment and economic and fiscal reform.
The motion earlier this month to question Sheikh Sabah, premier since late 2019, was supported by more than 30 MPs in the 50-seat assembly.
The motion, seen by Reuters, referred to a cabinet that did not reflect last year's legislative elections and to government “interference” in electing the speaker and members of parliamentary committees.
