.jpg)
WEB DESK
Kuwait’s Cabinet has resigned and Parliament has been dissolved, triggering early elections. The moves follow disputes between MPs and the government over fuel price increases in the oil-rich country.
As oil prices around the world stay low, Kuwait’s government has cut some benefits including fuel subsidies, hiking the cost of petrol by up to 80 per cent. This led to growing dissent.
The government would have completed its normal four-year term in July next year. MPs in the current Parliament are widely regarded as pro-government but have filed three requests to ask ministers about the price rises.
After an emergency government meeting this afternoon Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, issued a decree dissolving the Gulf state’s Parliament.
The official KUNA news agency reported the move came less than 24 hours after Parliament Speaker Marzouk al-Ghanem called for snap elections in the face of mounting security and economic challenges.
Under Kuwait’s constitution, early polls must be held within two months of the dissolution of the House.