Kuwait emir sets parliamentary election for February 2

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah on Sunday decreed that an early parliamentary election would take place on February 2, the privately-owned al-Rai television reported.
The decision comes nearly two weeks after the emir dissolved parliament following the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah last month in one of the deepest political crises in the oil-exporting state.
At the time, the emir had set no date for an election, which under the constitution must be held within two months from the date parliament is dissolved.
The OPEC member and US ally has been locked in a long-running political battle between the government, dominated by the ruling al Sabah family, and the 50-member elected parliament. Oil wealth and a generous welfare state have helped Kuwait to escape the kind of uprisings that have ousted heads of state in other Arab countries this year.