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New Kuwaiti emir keeps government in place until elections next month

Emir Sabah seeks unity ahead of Nov. 28 elections.
Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (R) salutes the crowd after being sworn in as Kuwait's new Emir at the National Assembly in Kuwait City, as Parilament Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanem looks on, on September 30, 2020. - Kuwait today swore in its new emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, after the death of his half-brother, Sheikh Sabah, who died in the US at the age of 91. (Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat / AFP) (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Kuwait’s new emir told the government to stay in office until elections next month after the prime minister offered to resign, as is the custom when a new emir is appointed.

Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah met with Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah on Tuesday. At the start of the meeting, the prime minister offered to resign. However, the emir “affirmed high confidence in the current government to continue carrying out its tasks and performing the constitutional duties and completing the preparation for the upcoming legislative elections,” the state-run Kuwait News Agency reported.

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