KUWAIT CITY (AlArabiya.net, AFP)
The Gulf state of Kuwait plunged further into political turmoil on Monday after an Islamist lawmaker submitted a request to quiz the prime minister, the third such move in a week.
Islamist lawmaker Mohammad Hayef accuses Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah of being responsible for allowing the demolition of two mosques built illegally on state land.
Hayef had called on Sheikh Nasser to refer the head of the government agency responsible for demolitions to the public prosecution but he refused, even though he had ordered the agency to halt mosque demolitions.
Last week, Islamist MPs filed two requests to question Sheikh Nasser in parliament over allegations of mismanagement, breach of the constitution and failure to adopt a prudent economic policy, besides misuse of public funds.
The questioning fuelled speculations of an imminent decision by ruler of OPEC's fourth largest producer to dissolve parliament, elected only last year, and call for fresh polls within two months.
Three requests have been submitted to question PM Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah Several MPs said last week that a decision to dissolve the 50-member house had been taken and it is now expected to be announced this week.
It is the first time any prime minister of the oil-rich emirate has faced three questioning at the same time.
Sheikh Nasser, a nephew of the emir, has been under constant political pressure ever since became premier in February 2006.
The most recent of his five cabinets was appointed in January.
His four previous cabinets resigned after disputes with parliament, the latest in November when three Islamist MPs applied to question Sheikh Nasser over allegations of mismanagement and allowing a banned Iranian Shiite cleric to enter Kuwait.
Kuwait is no stranger to political crises, with many MPs blaming disputes in the ruling al-Sabah families.
Kuwait's constitution, the first adopted by an Arab state in the Gulf, was suspended in 1976 for five years and in 1986 for six years when parliament was also dissolved.
In 2006, a power struggle among the al-Sabahs resulted in an unprecedented vote by the elected parliament to remove the then emir, Sheikh Saad Abdullah al-Sabah, on health grounds.
Parliament was also dissolved in March 2007 over political disputes between MPs and the government, and fresh elections were held.
The al-Sabah family has run the affairs of Kuwait since it came into existence some 250 years ago, and Kuwaitis have seldom questioned their continuing rule.
The emir, crown prince and the prime minister are all from the family, which also controls the key ministerial portfolios of defense, interior, information and foreign affairs. |
