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Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah gestures in the National Assembly hall as he opens the 14th legislative session of parliament in Kuwait City on Wednesday. (REUTERS)
Kuwait's emir on Wednesday called on MPs and the government to cooperate, end disputes and fend off internal and external dangers as he inaugurated the new opposition-dominated parliament.
"Our country is facing a host of internal challenges and external dangers that are hampering progress... and stalling development," Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad 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.
"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 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 Kuwaiti parliament elected the two oldest members as speaker and deputy speaker of the new parliament, reflecting the opposition's strength.
MP Ahmad Al Saadun, 78, was elected speaker by 38 votes against 26 by his only rival, liberal MP Mohammad al-Sager.
Fifteen unelected ministers from the cabinet were allowed to vote, a privilege granted to them under Kuwaiti law.
Saadun is the longest serving lawmaker in Kuwait. He has been a member of parliament since 1975, winning in every parliamentary poll since then.
He has also served as speaker on three occasions.
Islamist Salafi MP Khaled Al Sultan, 74, was elected as Saadun's deputy.
The elections, the fourth in less than six years, were held following protests that forced former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah, a nephew of the emir, to quit in November.
The emir later dissolved the previous parliament.
Recognising 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.
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.
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