KUWAIT: Opposition MP Obaid Al-Wasmi officially withdrew his resignation yesterday to defuse a major political crisis as the government boycotted the National Assembly session for the second day in a row. Wasmi told reporters he has withdrawn the grilling against Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali in order to abort government excuses for not debating the two grillings and refusing to merge them, citing violations of the law. However, it was not immediately known whether Shamali will accept to debate the second grilling in today's session amid wild rumours that he has resigned, which were denied by his aides.
Wasmi's step came after two days of political tensions in the country that made some opposition MPs to accuse the government of plotting to dissolve the Assembly. Yesterday, government ministers did not attend the Assembly session that was scheduled to discuss the two grillings against Shamali, and deputy speaker Khaled Al-Sultan was forced to adjourn the session for today because Assembly sessions in Kuwait are not legal without the presence of at least one minister.
The controversy began on Tuesday when opposition MPs tried yesterday to merge the two grillings against the finance minister in order to have a single debate on them but the government refused, citing violations of the Assembly's internal charter. When Apeaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun decided to resolve the dispute by voting, all government ministers walked out of the session. The government's action yesterday came despite the opposition offering a major concession by agreeing to a government demand to debate the two grillings separately provided that the minister pledges to debate both the grillings in the same session. The government turned down the concession, saying that it will not accept any preconditions to debate the grillings.
Several opposition MPs strongly blasted the government charging it was an attempt to protect corrupt officials and prevent MPs from exposing them to the Kuwaiti people, while others bluntly accused the government of attempting to dissolve the Assembly. MP Osama Al-Munawer said that the government does not have any respect for the Assembly and the Kuwaiti people and even "it does not have any self-respect".
MP Jamaan Al-Harbash said the government's failure to attend the session is proof that it does not want to debate the grillings. He urged the government to attend the session today or "the majority bloc will take important decisions". He insisted that all corrupt people in the ministry of finance will be exposed whether the grilling was debated or not in order to let the Kuwaiti people know who is corrupt.
MP Mubarak Al-Waalan said the grilling will expose all corrupt elements in addition to alleged embezzlements. MP Adel Al-Damkhi charged the government's move is part of a plan to prepare the Kuwaiti people for dissolving the Assembly, and warned that dissolving the assembly could lead to serious consequences. MP Musallam Al-Barrak called on the minister to stop his maneuvers and to either face the grilling in the Assembly or submit his resignation.
MP Sultan said Shamali's resignation was a matter of time and told MPs to "wait for his resignation". It is almost certain that the debate of the grilling today will end by submitting a non-confidence motion signed by 10 MPs and perhaps more than one request. It requires 25 votes in the 50-seat Assembly to pass. The opposition has many more than 25 MPs and is expected to vote him out of office if he does not resign before then.
Shamali, 69, has worked in Kuwait's Finance Ministry for more than four decades. He first became finance minister in 2007 and held on to the position through several Cabinet reshuffles and questioning sessions in the Assembly. "This is a political show. If he goes through one "grilling" session, I think he will resign afterwards because it is almost certain he cannot win a confidence vote," said Ghanim Al-Najjar, political science professor at Kuwait University. "If not there is a possibility of a snap election, this is growing by the hour," he said.
© Kuwait Times 2012
