Kuwait said on Saturday it would hold national assembly elections on April 4, the latest round of voting after years of political turmoil.

The announcement was made by the state-run Kuna news agency, citing a decree published in the oil-rich country’s official gazette.

In February, Kuwait’s emir dissolved parliament after a lawmaker insulted the ruler.

Domestic political disputes have dogged Kuwait for years, including reforms to Kuwait’s welfare system that have left the emirate unable to shoulder its debt. Despite generating vast wealth from its oil reserves, it barely has enough money in its coffers to pay bloated public sector wages.

Parliament has been dissolved several times after failing to make progress, and Kuwait’s Constitutional Court annulled a 2022 decree in 2023, overturning another such annulment. The country’s late emir later deposed the parliament again and held elections for a new parliament, which was annulled following the February decision.

Kuwait, with a population of about 4.2 million and an area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of New Jersey, has the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves.

It has been a staunch U.S. ally since the 1991 Gulf War that ousted Saddam Hussein’s occupied Iraqi forces. Kuwait is home to approximately 13,500 U.S. troops and is the forward headquarters of the U.S. Army in the Middle East.