Kuwait’s defense and interior ministers handed their resignations to the prime minister, the local media reported. Defense Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Sabah and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmed Mansour Al Ahmed Al Sabah are coming from the ruling family.
It is not clear whether their resignations will be accepted.
According to the local media, both ministers submitted their resignations, citing the impossibility of working in the current troubled political atmosphere. Defense Minister Sheikh Sabah survived a no-confidence vote in parliament last month. The resignation decision is considered as a reaction to that move.
Issuing a joint statement on their decisions, both ministers said, “We would not be exaggerating if we said that, at the time we are earnestly working to make achievements, it has unfortunately become impossible to achieve reform, especially in light of this atmosphere.”
Both ministers were re-appointed in the latest government formed last December as the country’s third in 2021. The current government was established in line with the “National Dialogue,” a process launched by Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf, to bring an end to a long-standing disagreement between the elected parliament and appointed government. The aforementioned standoff has hindered state efforts for fiscal reform.
Opposition lawmakers in Kuwait have frequently appealed no-confidence votes against several ministers. In the last example of such a move, Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Mohammed faced a no-confidence vote on Wednesday, in which he survived.
