Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid was reappointed as Kuwait’s prime minister on Tuesday, according to state media, and given the responsibility of building the Gulf OPEC oil producer’s third government this year in the midst of a domestic political crisis.
Sheikh Sabah, who has been Prime Minister since late 2019, was reappointed by an Emiri order issued by Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, according to state news agency KUNA. In a stalemate with the elected parliament, the administration resigned on November 8.
Last week, Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah temporarily delegated some of his most important constitutional responsibilities to his designated successor, the Crown Prince, including choosing the prime minister and swearing in the government.
The Emir had already accepted the resignation of the cabinet as part of efforts to break a months-long impasse between the administration and opposition parliamentarians. To ease the situation, he also granted an amnesty pardoning political dissidents.
Despite a move that gave him temporary protection in March, some opposition MPs sought to interrogate Sheikh Sabah on a variety of grounds, including the management of the COVID-19 outbreak and corruption.
The impasse has blocked legislative progress, preventing Kuwait from pursuing budgetary reforms such as enacting debt legislation that would allow the country to access foreign markets.
