Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah dissolved parliament and took over some government functions just six weeks after elections in the oil-rich Persian Gulf nation , reported the world agencies quoted by BTA.
"An order has been issued by the emir to dissolve the National Assembly and to suspend certain articles of the constitution for a period not exceeding four years,", the Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reported.
She adds that the Emir and the Council of Ministers "have assumed the powers granted to the National Assembly" to end the institutional impasse.
"We have faced difficulties and obstacles that cannot be tolerated," the head of state said in a speech broadcast on official television, accusing some lawmakers of trying to "interfere" in his management.
Parliament, elected in early April, was due to meet for the first time on Monday. However, several deputies refused to participate in the administration.
Kuwait's constitution requires at least one lawmaker to hold a ministerial portfolio until the government is formed. But the prime minister-designate failed to convince a single MP to participate in the government.
The Kuwaiti emir believes that the inability to form a government is the result of "the dictates and conditions of some" deputies.
Unlike other monarchies in the region, OPEC member Kuwait has an influential parliament, although the keys to power remain largely in the hands of the ruling Al Sabah family.
Deputies, elected for a four-year term, have significant prerogatives. Their constant disputes with the executive led to the change of governments and the dissolution of parliament more than ten times since the adoption of the parliamentary system in 1962.
Kuwait, which borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq, holds 7% of the world's crude oil reserves. It also has one of the most powerful sovereign wealth funds in the world.
Repeated crises between the parliament and the government, however, hinder the adoption of reforms to diversify the economy.
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Source: www.bta.bg