The new Emir of Kuwait looks set to be dumped even before his official swearing-in because leading ministers say that he is too sick even to deliver his two-line oath of office, let alone rule the country.

Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, the former Crown Prince, was automatically named Kuwait's 14th Emir last week after the death of his cousin, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

But his nomination split the kingdom's ruling family, with many influential members backing the late emir's brother, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who as Prime Minister has been in day-to-day charge of the kingdom for years.

Today the cabinet asked for a special session of parliament to be convened for tomorrow morning to vote on Sheikh's Saad removal, only hours before he is due to be sworn in. The 75-year-old underwent colon surgery in 1997 and appeared at the late Emir's funeral in a wheelchair.

"It has been proven to the council of ministers that His Highness Emir Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah has lost his health capability to exercise his constitutional prerogatives," the Government said in a letter to the parliamentary speaker.

In return, Sheikh Saad wrote to the speaker, Jassem al-Khorafi, ordering him to organise a special swearing-in ceremony this evening, an order which Mr al-Khorafi refused.

If Sheikh Saad is voted out of office, he will be the first Gulf leader removed from office by peaceful means. To remove the emir, a two-thirds majority vote is required by the 65-member parliament, which includes 16 cabinet ministers.

The parliament’s bureau, headed by Mr al-Khorafi, is holding an emergency meeting today to look into the constitutional crisis after the failure of negotiations at the weekend to find a compromise.

Sheikh Saad is backed by his cousin, Sheikh Salem al-Ali al-Sabah, the elderly head of the national guard who is considered the dean of the family. But Sheikh Sabah is solidly backed by the overwhelming majority of the family, the cabinet and the local media.

Sheikh Sabah is a shrewd 76-year-old politician who has been de facto ruler of Kuwait for several years due to the ill health of both the late emir and the then crown prince, Sheikh Saad.

Supporters of Sheikh Saad put up huge placards in Kuwait City and other parts of the emirate yesterday hailing him as"the hero of the liberation of Kuwait", which came under Iraqi occupation in 1990-1991 before it was liberated by a US-led coalition.

Kuwait sits on 10 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves and has a native population of just under one million, in addition to 1.9 million foreigners.

It is far from clear, however, that MPs will agree to step into the row. An Islamist legislator, Walid Tabtabai, told reporters that a group of parliamentarians were forming a team to mediate between the two sides of the ruling family.

"Lawmakers don’t want to take sides," he said, adding that some MPs were considering boycotting parliament altogether until the ruling family decides who should take over.

The country’s press has sided firmly with Sheik Sabah. "Things are clear as the sun. The family has pledged allegiance to Sheik Sabah to run the country, and he is qualified for that," said a front-page editorial in Al-Watan this morning. "Things will come to a head in two or three days. Go, your highness Sheik Sabah, and we will follow and support you."

The crisis is complicated by the fact that the new emir has not yet chosen a crown prince. Under the constitution, he has up to a year to choose one.

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