KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait's ruling emir, in the face of widespread public disillusionment with his government, vowed Sunday to hold national elections for a new parliament within the next year and said he will encourage U.S. troops to remain in Kuwait as long as Saddam Hussein remains in power in Iraq.
Facing mounting criticism that already has forced the resignation of his Cabinet, Sheik Jabbar al Ahmed al Sabah also pledged to consider granting voting rights to women and other Kuwaitis who do not hold full citizenship privileges.
"We have decided that after the stability of all things in the country has been restored, that parliamentary life will return back to Kuwaitis and elections will take place within the next year," the emir said in his annual Ramadan address to the nation.
But Jabbar made it clear that Kuwait will seek to rely on its allies to guard against what it perceives as a continuing threat from Iraq, vowing to seek the presence of American troops "to repel any mad act that tyrant might embark upon so long as he is in power."
"I don't think Kuwait is safe yet," he declared. "The seeds of evil lie in his soul, and probably he is again going to spread his seeds."
The emir accused Iraq of maintaining a "fifth column" within Kuwait in an attempt to destabilize the country in the wake of Iraq's seven-month occupation.
The pledge for democratic reforms was clearly aimed at garnering support from a growing political opposition that has effectively blocked appointment of a new government by refusing to take part in it without significant new strides toward democracy in Kuwait.
The opposition has been critical of the ruling Sabah family's handling of the crisis with Iraq, raising questions about why the country was so unprepared for Hussein's Aug. 2 invasion and about the slow and muddled restoration of government services after the liberation of Kuwait. Pro-democracy leaders have demanded a definite timetable for elections, greater public participation in all branches of the government and greater freedom of expression.
The emir's address goes little further than a similar pledge last year to restore Kuwait's constitution, leaving open the question of precisely when national parliamentary elections will be held. A Ministry of Information spokesman said it appears likely they will be held sometime during 1992.
