Reuters

KUWAIT: Kuwait's ruler has called an early parliamentary election for Feb. 2, state-news agency Kuna reported on Sunday, nearly two weeks after he dissolved the chamber in a power struggle that has paralysed politics in the oil-exporting country.

The decision by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah follows last month's resignation of the government led by his nephew, Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah, in what has become Kuwait's worst political crisis in 20 years.
Sheikh Nasser's departure was precipitated when opposition lawmakers and protesters stormed parliament demanding his removal over allegations of high-level corruption and mismanagement, charges he denies.

Kuwait's oil wealth and a generous welfare state had helped it avoid the kind of widespread protest that has ousted heads of state in other Arab countries this year.
The emir, who has the final say over key decisions in one of the world's biggest oil exporting states, had to name a date within 60 days of parliament's dissolution on Dec. 6.

In what has become a power struggle pitting the 50-member parliament against a government dominated by the Sabah family, the cabinet had angered the opposition by refusing their request to question the prime minister. That culminated in the raid on parliament.

The emir has since named outgoing Defence Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah, another member of the ruling family, as the new prime minister until elections.
In their weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, ministers agreed that the election would be monitored by the state-run Kuwait Transparency Society in coordination with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Information, said Kuna.