Kuwaitis protest dissolution of parliament

The Constitutional Court declared February elections in Kuwait illegal. The opposition won 34 of 50 seats in those elections. The court re-instated the previous pro-government parliament. The newly elected parliament dominated by oppoition members had been a pain in the royal posterior.
The demonstrators swarmed into Kuwait City Erada square chanting"we will not surrender" Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah ordered the parliament's dissolution and early elections. There are claims of corruption within the government including bribes paid to pro-government MPs.
Compared to some other Gulf sheikhdoms the Kuwaiti parliament has considerable powers and members often criticize the ruling family. However, the Sabahs still control key government posts. Even though the opposition won over half the seats in parliament they were not given an equal number of posts in the cabinet.
Parlaiament kept calling government ministers for questioning. The emir suspended parliament for a month to avoid a political crisis. Now the constitutional court had solved his immediate problem but the crisis remains. For more see this article.

Islamist Opposition wins big in Kuwait

   As in Egyptian elections Islamist parties in Kuwait did very well in recent elections. A bloc of  Islamist parties won a large majority of 34 of 50 seats in the National Assembly. There is just one legislative chamber in Kuwait.
    The bloc is a combination of harder line Salafists and the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood representatives. The majority is large enough to prevent the prime minister who is appointed by the monarch to block legislation through the 15 members of the cabinet he appoints. Even if he appoints no existing MPs the Islamists will still hold a 34 to 31 lead.
  Although the Kuwaiti parliament is in theory more powerful than those in other area monarchies in practice any attempts to exert real power are sometimes thwarted by royal action. The Islamist parties have pushed for anti-corruption measures and also introduction of Sharia law. Attempts by the legislature to pass laws against corruption led the Emir to dissolve the parliament in 2008. The emir claimed that the members were misusing their power. Corrupt politicians always worry about other politicians curbing their corruption! For more see this article.

Kuwait: Protesters storm parliament and demand prime minister resign

  The storming of the parliament was in response to the actions of police and elite forces who allegedly beat up protesters who were marching on the Prime Minister's house asking for his resignation. Several protesters were injured in the earlier march.
  Although some activists have been holding protests since March this is the first violence since last December when elite forces also are charged with beating up protesters. The prime minister as well as many MP's have been accused of corruption.
   Attempts to have corruption investigated and stopped have been thwarted. The premier Sabah has been a constant target of criticism. The foreign minister resigned a month ago. He had been involved in a plot to put money into foreign accounts. Sabah is an important member of the royal family and many believed he was also involved in the plot. For more see this article.