Kuwait’s Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah (photo by AP)

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al Sabah has reappointed Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid Al Sabah as prime minister following general elections, which saw the opposition win almost half of the parliament’s seats.

The emir on Tuesday asked Sheikh Sabah to nominate members of a new cabinet for approval, state media reported.

Members of the Al Sabah ruling family, in power for the past 250 years, retain full control over key government and executive posts.

Sheikh Sabah’s cabinet resigned on Sunday in a routine procedure after the elections.

According to the results announced by the electoral commission on state TV on Sunday, candidates belonging to or leaning toward the opposition won 24 seats in the 50-seat National Assembly, up from 16 in the previous parliament.

The polls were the first since Sheikh Nawaf was sworn in as the new emir of Kuwait in September following the death of his half-brother, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah, at the age of 91.

Under the constitution, the emir has the final say in state matters and can dissolve the legislature at the recommendation of the government.

The premier traditionally helps navigate the often tense relationship between the government and parliament.

Sheikh Sabah had been in charge of the Foreign Ministry since 2011 before being appointed prime minister in late 2019.

He faces the urgent task of overcoming a legislative gridlock on a debt law.

The parliament has repeatedly rejected the bill, which would allow Kuwait to tap international debt markets as low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic caused a liquidity crisis in the cradle-to-grave welfare state.