The Kuwaiti government succeeded in overcoming another hurdle in its tug-of-war with the National Assembly after the Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Mohammad al-Jabri survived a no-confidence vote.
Jabri is the second minister within days to survive the vote after being questioned by the Assembly.
On April 30, the parliament also concluded the debriefing of Deputy Premier and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Anas al-Saleh.
Tension between the government and the Assembly got considerable during the past few days after the two authorities disagreed on important issues in the country, which led to a request to debrief Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak, with the intention of some MPs to question a number of ministers.
The government asserted its support to its members, while the Assembly rejected in a special session on Wednesday a request for confidence for the Information Minister.
The Assembly held a special session on the no-confidence motion, during which 34 members voted against the motion, 12 voted in favor and two abstained.
The motion was submitted by MPs: Riyadh al-Adasani, Adel al-Damkhi, and Mohammed al-Dallaal, who asserted the minister must be held accountable for his performance and consider the increase in the number of violations in every authority under his supervision.
The motion also dealt with the violations of the Ministry of Information and General Authority for Sport, as well as the parliament’s question to the Minister.
Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim gave the floor to two of the no-confidence vote supporters: MPs Yousef al-Fadala and Riyadh al-Adasani, and two opponents MPs Saadoun al-Otaibi and Awda al-Ruwaie.
During the parliament’s closed session, the MPs had various views regarding the vote. MP Fadala was dissatisfied with the Minister's referral of the violations to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Public Authority For Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAF).
MP Otaibi, who objected the vote, said the motion was for electoral purposes and not political, noting that the MPs who submitted the request all belonged to the same circle.
MP Adasani said the minister has failed to respond to most of the accusations and insisted that financial violations and illegal appointments had increased under the minister especially in the agricultural and sports authorities.
Ruwaie, who was against the motion, noted that the violations of the Information Ministry were dealt with and many were settled, adding that the matter doesn’t qualify the need for a no-confidence vote.
