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Kuwaiti PM receives non-cooperation request

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-12-09 01:21

KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah on Tuesday received a non-cooperation request from ten lawmakers, a motion if passed could unseat him.

The prime minister was grilled in a closed session over allegations that his office committed financial irregularities in the run up to the 2008 elections.

His agreement to be questioned was aimed at soothing escalating tensions between the government and the parliament in recent days.

In a statement after the interpellation, he said the grilling involved some legal and constitutional violations because it dealt with the expenses of his office which are being reviewed by the courts.

The prime minister, a member of the ruling family, also expressed the hope that the country could put this issue aside and forge ahead on the road to development and prosperity, guided by a fruitful partnership between the executive and legislative bodies.

Parliament Speaker Jassem al-Kharafi said the parliament will vote on the motion on December16, a day after the 30th leader's summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The motion, if approved by a majority of the parliament, would be sent to the emir who then could oust the prime minister or dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections.

Kuwait is the first Gulf Arab state to adopt a constitution in 1962 and set up an elected parliament in the following year. The parliament has the right to question ministers or vote them out of office.

Since 2006, parliament has been dissolved three times due to various disputes with the government.

The political chaos in the emirate that sits atop ten percent of the world's proven oil reserves have stymied major economic reforms amid the global financial crisis.