KUWAIT: Kuwait's parliamentary speaker said yesterday that the Gulf state's new emir had a right to take the oath of office, potentially widening a rift in the ruling family over whether he is too ill to rule.
A source close to the royal family said Sheikh Saad al-Abdulla al-Sabah had agreed to take the oath tomorrow.
Sheikh Saad (76) was proclaimed emir last week after the death of his cousin, Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, at the age of 78.
But the cabinet said on Saturday it was invoking a law that allows it to ask a medical team to examine Sheikh Saad and report to parliament on his ability to rule. Any step to remove him would require a two-thirds vote in parliament.
The emir had, however, asked parliament to allow him to take the oath of office.
Under the constitution, he has to take the two-line oath in front of a special session of parliament before he can formally assume his responsibilities as ruler.
"If His Highness the emir wishes to take the oath, we can not reject such a request," house speaker Jassem al-Kharafi told reporters at parliament.
"Sheikh Saad and Speaker Kharafi met and Tuesday was set as the date for the emir's swearing-in during a parliament session," a source close to the ruling family said. Tuesday was later confirmed as the date.
Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the late emir's brother, has been de facto ruler for the past few years and analysts say he is the most likely contender for the post of emir if Sheikh Saad were forced to step down.
But appointing Sheikh Sabah would break with a long-held tradition of powersharing by Kuwait's two branches of the royal family - the Jabers and the Salems. Sheikh Sabah and the late emir belong to the Jaber branch.
Sheikh Saad, from the other branch, had colon surgery in 1997.
He was hospitalised last year with hyperglycaemia and has often had treatment abroad since then.