Kuwaiti government resigns after dispute with parliament

The Kuwaiti government has resigned barely three months after its formation, in the latest political standoff in the Gulf country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Sabah submitted the resignation of his cabinet to the country’s crown prince on Monday.

Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who has taken over most of the emir’s duties, last year named Sheikh Ahmad as premier and called early legislative polls after dissolving the previous parliament to end feuding that impeded fiscal reforms.

Tensions recently resurfaced between Kuwait’s elected parliament and the government, sworn in last October, as lawmakers pressed for a debt relief bill, under which the state would buy Kuwaiti citizen’s personal loans, and sought to question two ministers.

The prime minister submitted the government’s resignation to the crown prince “as a result of what has become of the relationship between the executive and legislative authorities” cabinet statement.

Political bickering has for years hampered investment and reforms in Kuwait, which is heavily dependent on oil revenues, has an expansive welfare system and a public sector that employs roughly 80 percent of its citizens. Kuwaitis account for less than a third of the population of 4.6 million people.