Kuwait crisis deepens; assembly to vote on ill emir

Kuwait's cabinet on Monday asked parliament to vote on the new emir's ability to take office, heightening a succession battle between the two wings of the ruling al-Sabah dynasty.
The new emir, Sheikh Saad al-Abdulla al-Sabah, is 76 and ailing, but removing him would breach a long tradition of alternating power between the family's rival branches.
There are no political differences at stake and any new ruler would maintain Kuwait's oil policy and pro-Western stance. But the crisis has forced parliament to put off indefinitely its regular sessions, including debate on an $8.5 billion plan to boost oil output in partnership with foreign firms.
The succession problem intensified when the government, led by powerful Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, asked parliament to vote on Tuesday on Sheikh Saad's ability to rule. The new emir is due to swear his oath of office on the same day.
In an apparent bid to pre-empt the vote, Sheikh Saad asked parliament to bring forward the ceremony to Monday, but assembly speaker Jassem al-Kharafi rejected his request, lawmakers said.
Sheikh Saad became emir of Kuwait on January 15 after the death of his cousin. Next in line after him is Sheikh Sabah, who has been de facto ruler of the pro-US Gulf state for four years.
"We are now facing a crisis over the rule," analyst Ali al-Baghli, a former oil minister, told Reuters.
"Things are now in parliament's hands... it has a government request backed by health affidavits that the emir is not fit medically. Therefore it should look into this first before he can take the oath."
Any step to remove Sheikh Saad would require a two-thirds majority in the 50-member assembly. Under the constitution, the cabinet can also have a medical team examine the emir and report to parliament on his health.
Kharafi said elder statesmen were mediating to try to contain the dispute within the family.
"This is being done in the hope of reaching an amicable solution ahead of tomorrow's parliament session," he added.
Some parliamentarians criticised the ruling family's inability to resolve the issue.
"We had hoped the ruling family elders would solve the issue that Sheikh Saad is not capable of ruling and should hand over to someone who is," MP Hussein al-Qallaf said.
"It's clear that the person ruling the country over the past years and continues to do so is Sheikh Sabah. I believe there will be a unanimous vote that Sheikh Saad is incapacitated."
Sheikh Sabah took over Kuwait's day-to-day affairs four years ago due to the ill health of both Sheikh Saad and the late emir, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The prime minister has won support from many in the ruling family, especially his own clan.
Sheikh Sabah and the late emir hail from the family's Jaber branch which holds several key government ministries. Sheikh Saad is from the Salem wing, whose only other cabinet post is that of foreign minister.
The cabinet swiftly named Sheikh Saad emir last week to avert family rifts and reassure investors about Kuwait's stability.
After Sheikh Jaber died, Kuwaiti oil officials said the country would maintain its oil policy and that energy sector operations and projects would proceed normally.
Three international consortia led by BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron are competing for Project Kuwait, which has undergone stop-start debates for more than a decade.
Kuwait sits on about one-tenth of the world's oil reserves.
Some powerful MPs oppose the project, arguing that foreign energy firms should not be allowed into the lucrative upstream sector. The project aims to raise output at the four major oilfields to 900,000 barrels per day (bpd).