Kuwaitis were voting Thursday in by-elections called to replace five MPs who resigned after parliament rejected a request to grill the prime minister over alleged graft.

Seventy-two candidates, including five women, are in the race for the seats that are being contested in three of the five electoral districts. Voting ends at 1700 GMT and results are expected a few hours later.

Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, urged calm Wednesday as he expressed deep concern over allegations of a conspiracy against the government and a huge corruption scam.

In his first public comments on an issue that has shaken the wealthy Gulf state, Sheikh Sabah urged all parties to leave the issue for the judiciary to investigate.

A Kuwaiti delegation will arrive in Beirut at the weekend shortly after Prime Minister Tammam Salam's one-day visit to the Gulf country.

According to Al-Liwaa newspaper published on Monday, the delegation will head to Beirut to follow up the agreements held between Salam and the Kuwaiti officials.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam is scheduled to travel to Egypt soon in order to discuss the latest local and regional developments with top officials, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Friday.

It said that the premier is set to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, his counterpart Ibrahim Mahlab, and Arab league chief Nabil al-Arabi.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam is expected to call for a cabinet session next week if his consultations with the factions represented in the government led to a deal on the mechanism they would adopt to exercise full executive powers, officials said.

The officials, who are close to Salam, told al-Mustaqbal newspaper published on Thursday that a session was not held this week because of lack of agreement on the mechanism and the PM's planned trip to Kuwait over the weekend.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam is scheduled to visit Kuwait on Sunday for talks with Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, in his second Gulf state visit in a month.

Al-Liwaa daily said Wednesday that the one-day trip is aimed at sending a message that Lebanon's security situation has improved and that Kuwaiti citizens could visit the country.

Former Kuwaiti premier Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah said Tuesday he was ready to face a probe over alleged coup plot and corruption that rocked the oil-rich Gulf state.

A senior member of the ruling family who left office in November 2011 after nearly six years in office, he and former parliament speaker Jassem al-Khorafi were accused in a lawsuit filed Monday of major corruption and of plotting a coup.

Visiting Kuwaiti Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim said on Tuesday that the Gulf State never wavered in backing Lebanon.

He stressed: “Kuwait will never abandon Lebanon under any circumstances.”

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas has said that he discussed with Kuwait's Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim the possibility of holding an Arab parliamentary conference in Beirut over the Syrian refugee crisis.

Derbas told al-Liwaa newspaper in remarks published on Tuesday that such a conference could be followed by an Arab summit to help the host countries meet the burden of the refugees.

Kuwait's premier and a senior royal filed two separate lawsuits to the attorney general on Monday demanding an investigation into allegations of a coup plot and a huge corruption scandal.

The wealthy Gulf state was shaken two months ago after news surfaced about videotapes allegedly showing former senior officials plotting a coup against the government.