Kuwait Emir Urges Cooperation to End Disputes, New Speaker Elected

The Kuwaiti emir Wednesday inaugurated the new opposition-dominated parliament by calling on MPs and the government to cooperate, end disputes and fend off internal and external dangers.

"Our country is facing a host of internal challenges and external dangers that are hampering progress... and stalling development," Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah told the new parliament elected on February 2 in snap polls.

We must show "unity and cooperation to face these dangers and its evils," said the emir, referring to ongoing turmoil in several Arab countries and a series of internal political crises which rocked the oil-rich Gulf state.

"Fending off these dangers should top your list of priorities... and preserving national unity and fighting dissent... should be your most important duty," Sheikh Sabah told MPs.

The elections, the fourth in less than six years, were held following youth-led street protests that forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah, a nephew of the emir, to quit in November.

The emir later dissolved the previous parliament.

Recognizing the growing power of youth, the emir said that he has called for a national conference to focus on the problems and explore solutions to the challenges facing the young people.

Youth groups and activists played an important role in the elections, campaigning for reformist candidates.

Veteran opposition figure MP Ahmed al-Saadoun was elected as speaker. He received 38 votes against 26 to his only competitor, liberal MP Mohammad al-Sager.

The chamber broke out in wild applause after MP Khaled al-Sultan, who chaired the session, announced the result.

Saadoun, 78, is Kuwait's longest serving lawmaker. He has been a member of parliament since 1975, winning in every parliamentary poll since then.

The Islamist-led opposition scored a resounding victory, controlling a majority in the 50-member house but the new line-up announced Tuesday included only one member of the opposition and no Islamists.

The new cabinet, led by Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah, a senior member of the al-Sabah ruling family, also excluded women for the first time since 2005.