Kuwait's emir accepts resignations of defence, interior ministers

[February 17, 2022]    KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait's emir issued a decree on Thursday accepting the resignations of the ministers of interior and defence, the information ministry said on Twitter.

Kuwait's new Emir Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah gestures as he takes the oath of office at the parliament, in Kuwait City, Kuwait September 30, 2020. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee/File Photo

The two ministers, both members of the Al-Sabah ruling family, had submitted their resignations in protest over recent questioning of ministers in parliament, according to local newspapers.

The Emiri decree appointed Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah as caretaker defence minister, replacing Sheikh Hamad Jaber al-Sabah, and Oil Minister Mohammad Al-Fares as caretaker interior minister, replacing Sheikh Ahmad Mansour al-Sabah.

Opposition MPs have recently filed no-confidence motions against several ministers, including Kuwait's foreign minister, who survived a vote against him on Wednesday.

The current government was appointed in December - the third in 2021 - in a bid to resolve a long-running standoff with the elected parliament that has hindered state efforts for fiscal reform.

OPEC member Kuwait bans political parties but has given its legislature more influence than similar bodies in other Gulf states, including the power to pass and block laws, question ministers and submit no-confidence motions against senior government officials.

(Reporting by Moaz Abd-Alaziz; writing by Lina Najem; editing by Jason Neely and Raissa Kasolowsky)

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