KUWAIT CITY: Tens of thousands of Kuwaitis rallied on Monday, calling for parliament to be dissolved and 24 opposition activists be released, only hours after the cabinet resigned.
Waving Kuwaiti flags and chanting "Dissolve the parliament," the crowds at the opposition-sponsored protest celebrated after the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
Organisers estimated the crowd at 90,000, which would make it the largest-ever gathering in the oil-rich Gulf state with a native population of just 1.2 million.
"The resignation of the cabinet is not enough. Parliament must be dissolved and corrupt MPs should be referred to the public prosecution," opposition MP Mohammad Hayef told the cheering crowd.
Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Monday accepted the resignation of the premier and his cabinet, the seventh to quit in just over five years, over a dispute between the government and opposition MPs.
In September, the public prosecutor had opened an unprecedented probe into the bank accounts of 15 MPs in the 50-member parliament on allegations they received large illegal deposits estimated by the opposition at $350 million.
"Today is a day of victory for the Kuwaiti people in their fight against corruption," opposition MP Jamaan al-Harbash said. "We will grill the next prime minister if he does not combat corruption."
Abdulrahman al-Qashaan, a representative for 26 student and youth groups, called for the prime minister and all the 15 members of his cabinet to be tried in court.
Speakers also called on the emir to put an end to what they described as infighting within members of the Al-Sabah ruling family that has been in power in the wealthy Gulf state for more than 250 years.
"Your highness, disputes within members of the ruling family constitutes a threat to Kuwait," said independent MP Saifi al-Saifi, urging the emir to step in to end the row.
"We tell the ruling family that regimes (in the region) are falling but we only want you... You should unify your ranks so the Kuwaiti people are not affected by these disputes," Harbash said.
The rally also called for the release of 24 activists who are serving three weeks of detention pending trial for storming parliament on November 16. The activists have been on hunger strike for five days.
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