Around 20 opposition MPs representing all shades of the opposition attended the rally which was held opposite the National Assembly building amid tight security by hundreds of policemen and elite special forces. "We are here to press for the resignation of Sheikh Nasser and we will work for that," declared prominent opposition figure MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun.
The large crowds here is a message for the leaders that corruption has reached its limit … enough is enough" said Saadoun to the loud applause from the enthusiastic crowds who repeatedly chanted "leave, leave" to the prime minister.
"Corruption has become widespread in the country and Sheikh Nasser must leave," said Saadoun, who announced plans to grill the prime minister and the ministers of interior, foreign affairs and defense, all of whom are senior members of the ruling family.
Islamist opposition MP Faisal Al-Mislem launched a scathing attack on the prime minister, saying that he is not fit to head the government and run the country, and the crowds agreed.
"For the sake of the country, we call on HH the Amir to sack Sheikh Nasser immediately … If the era of Sheikh Nasser does not end, corruption will only grow bigger," Muslim stressed.
The continuity of the prime minister in the post is a disaster for Kuwait," said Mislem, who added that if Sheikh Nasser had been held to account for the cheques he issued to MPs two years ago, there would have been no corruption now.
The lawmaker also said that the Kuwaiti people deserve an elected government and they should get it. Mislem also announced that he will file a request to grill the prime minister over the suspected illegal bank deposits.
The corruption scandal was exposed a month ago when a press report said that a number of MPs had accepted millions of dinars in illegal transfers into their accounts during a short period.
The public prosecution last week launched an investigation into the bank accounts of at least nine MPs who were referred by two banks, National Bank of Kuwait and Kuwait Finance House.
More MPs are expected to be referred for investigation in the coming weeks as press reports said that several local banks are reviewing a number of suspicious accounts of MPs. MP Saadoun has estimated the transfers to be in the range of KD 96 million.
Speaking at the rally, MP Hassan Jowhar said that all MPs who accepted the illegal brines must be held to account and their accounts must be investigated since they became members of parliament.
Jowhar called for forming a national front to press for holding corrupt MPs accountable and said he is confident the front will succeed. MP Dhaifallah Buramia called for the resignation of all corrupt MPs before they are forced to quit, adding that all cases of suspected corruption will be investigated.
MP Mohammad Hayef insisted that the large crowd is a clear message for the government to depart, saying the message must be understood by decision-makers in order to safeguard the security of Kuwait.
Former MP Nasser Al-Sane said that corruption in Kuwait has been rising steadily since Sheikh Nasser was appointed prime minister in 2006. MP Mubarak Al-Waalan said that political bribes are not only in the form of cash, also in contracts and appointments to senior posts.
Corruption has been on the rise in this state which amassed more than $ 200 billion of budget surpluses over the past 12 fiscal years, thanks to high crude price.
Between 2003 and 2009, Kuwait slipped 31 places to 66th position on the Berlin-based Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index among 178 nations. In 2010, however, it improved 12 places to the 54th position but still came last among the six-nation energy-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), behind Saudi Arabia
