Kuwait interim government resigns

Kuwait's interim government tendered its resignation on Sunday, state television said, making way for the formation of a new cabinet following a snap parliamentary election on Thursday.   

Under the constitution, a new cabinet must be formed before the new parliament's first session, which is held two weeks after the vote.   

The outgoing cabinet was appointed in December after its predecessor resigned in response to a political deadlock that has stymied reform and held up vital development projects in the major oil-exporter.   

Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah then dissolved parliament and called early elections in which an Islamist-led opposition bloc stormed to victory, taking control of the Gulf state's fourth parliament in six years.   

The next cabinet, which is handpicked by a prime minister of the emir's choice, will face an opposition emboldened by its gains in last week's vote.   

Opposition candidates had been tipped to expand their influence in parliament, riding on a wave of popular frustration over corruption and political paralysis.    That anger came to a head in November, when protesters stormed the chamber demanding the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed al-Sabah, whom they accused of graft.   

Thursday's election left the assembly without any female parliamentarians, while the number of Shi'ite deputies was also eroded. Analysts say they were punished for siding with Sheikh Nasser or not being at the forefront of the movement to oust him.

Reuters