Kuwait dissolves parliament, sets May election

KUWAIT-Kuwait's ruler dissolved parliament on Wednesday and will call an election for May, lawmakers said, after a political crisis delaying economic reforms forced the oil exporting state's government to resign.Kuwait, whose stock market rallied on investor hopes the reforms would be approved by a new assembly, wants to diversify its economy away from oil like Gulf Arab neighbors Dubai and Bahrain that have become regional financial centers.Kuwait's crisis was caused by a standoff between the cabinet and parliament, which has a history of challenging the government-unusual for a region where countries like Saudi Arabia are dominated by ruling families.Lawmakers said Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, will set May 17 as election date. Jassem al-Kharafi, speaker of the dissolved house, had been told the decision but state media had yet to publish the official decree, they added.Lawmakers said Sheikh Sabah, who has the last say in Kuwaiti politics, would announce the dissolution and call a new poll in a televised address later on Wednesday."The decree is expected tonight," Deputy Speaker Mohamed al-Bosairi told reporters.The decision followed the resignation of the cabinet on Monday, less than a year after it was sworn in, complaining of a lack of cooperation from the assembly.The standoff had paralyzed political life and delayed key economic reforms in the major OPEC producer and key U.S. ally.
To read more go to :
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1911122520080319
As in the days of Noah....