Kuwaiti parliament dissolved

Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah stepped in Sunday to defuse a political crisis between the government and opposition MPs over an election bill, amid accusations that the government was deliberately blocking political reform.

Opposition MPs, who blame the government for triggering the crisis, said their main issue in the June 29 parliamentary poll in the oil rich emirate will be election reform and fighting corruption.

"Our main issue in the election campaign will be to call on the next parliament to carry out comprehensive reforms to the electoral system as a prelude to political reform," MP Mussallam al-Barrak said.

Veteran opposition MP Ahmad al-Saadun said that "the government had been hijacked by a small group of corrupt elements who have blocked reforms... The real battle of the Kuwaiti people is confronting the symbols of corruption."

Although the row appeared to have been sparked by the dispute over the number of constituencies in Kuwait -- there are currently 25, but the government offered 10, while the opposition demanded five -- the root cause of the crisis is the pace of reform.

"We have repeatedly said that reducing electoral districts was only a step on the road to reforms and combating corruption," Saadun, a three-time former speaker, told reporters after the dissolution was announced.

Like other opposition MPs, Saadun became highly skeptical of the government's intentions when after submitting its bill, it backed a motion by pro-government MPs to refer it to the constitutional court -- which amounts to delaying the reform undefinitely.