KUWAIT: Kuwait's parliament yesterday removed the country's ruler on health grounds and the cabinet nominated the prime minister as new emir.
The nomination of Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah ended the political uncertainty which had gripped Kuwait since Sheikh Saad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who is 76 and incapacitated by illness, became emir on January 15th after the death of his cousin.
Sheikh Sabah, a cousin of Sheikh Saad, has already been de facto ruler for four years because of the ill-health of both the late emir and Sheikh Saad.
Parliament voted unanimously to remove Sheikh Saad shortly before receiving his abdication letter, parliamentarians said.
Justice minister Ahmad Baqer said an official letter with Sheikh Sabah's nomination would be sent to parliament today and that he expected a voting session to be held on Sunday or Monday.
Yesterday's vote was a rare assertion of parliamentary muscle against a hereditary ruler in the Arab world, even though Kuwait's ruling family had agreed Sheikh Saad should step down.
Analysts hailed the vote as a triumph for the rule of law in a region dominated by autocratic governments.
"What happened today is positive . . . everybody felt the importance of the constitution and parliament, including the ruling family," former MP Abdulla al-Naibari said.
"Today, Kuwait has rid itself of tribal and social constraints," added analyst Mohammed al-Jassem. "The constitution alone now governs the politics of Kuwait," he added.
Sheikh Sabah has strong support within the ruling family, but his accession would interrupt a tradition of alternating power between the two rival branches of the al-Sabah dynasty.
Sheikh Sabah, if confirmed by parliament, is expected to maintain Kuwait's oil policy and pro-Western stance of the country which holds some 10 per cent of the world's crude reserves.
The succession crisis has forced parliament to postpone regular business that includes a debate on an $8.5 billion (€6.91 billion) plan to boost oil output with the help of foreign firms. - (Reuters)