Kuwait Emir Asks PM to Form Cabinet amid Street Protests

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah on Wednesday asked the outgoing prime minister to form a new government following polls boycotted by the opposition, state media said, after a second night of street protests.

Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling Al-Sabah family, submitted the resignation of his five-month-old cabinet on Monday, as required by the constitution after weekend polls.

The premier should form the cabinet before December 16 when the new parliament is scheduled to hold its opening session.

Sheikh Jaber, 69, was appointed premier in November last year after prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, a nephew of the emir, quit following a dispute with the opposition and allegations of corruption.

Saturday's snap poll, the second this year, was boycotted by the Islamist, nationalist and liberal opposition in protest at an amendment to the electoral law.

The opposition has demanded that the new parliament, dominated by pro-government MPs, must be abolished and the amendment to the law be scrapped because it breached the constitution.

The opposition plans to hold a demonstration on Saturday but youth activists staged street protests on Monday and Tuesday nights, in several areas at the same time.

In Tuesday's protests, activists clashed with police as they took to the streets in at least eight areas of the oil-rich Gulf state. Police used tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons to disperse the protesters.

As on Monday, clashes continued until the early hours of the morning. Activists said a number of protesters were wounded and several others arrested.