KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait on Wednesday set June 6 as the date for its legislative elections, state news agency Kuna reported, two days after the Gulf state’s parliament was dissolved by royal decree.
The parliament was only reinstated in March based on a Constitutional Court ruling following a previous dissolution.
Kuwait bans political parties and candidates run as independents, but it has given its legislature more influence than similar bodies in other Gulf monarchies, and political stability has traditionally depended on cooperation between the government and parliament.
The OPEC member has seen prolonged bickering between the government and the elected parliament that has hampered fiscal reforms.
The June 6 date was agreed by the council of ministers on Wednesday and referred to Kuwait’s Crown Prince, Kuna reported.
Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah had said last month the legislature would be dissolved and new parliamentary elections would be held in the coming months.
The parliament, first elected in 2020, was dissolved last year in a bid to end political feuding and a vote was held in September in which the opposition made gains.
But the Constitutional Court in March annulled those results and restored the previous assembly.
The U.S.-allied state has strong fiscal and external balance sheets, but the infighting and political gridlock have hampered investment and reforms aimed at reducing its heavy reliance on oil revenues.
(Reporting by Ahmed Hegagy; Writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by David Goodman and Angus MacSwan)
