US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT4352

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 004352 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PINR, KDEM, KISL, KU, FREEDOM AGENDA, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT SPEAK OUT ON 
ELECTORAL REFORM DURING AMBASSADOR'S RAMADAN DIWANIYA CALLS 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 4314 
 
     B. KUWAIT 4293 
     C. KUWAIT 3178 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary and comment:  During his nightly courtesy 
visits to diwaniyas during Ramadan, which began October 4, 
the Ambassador has been asking National Assembly members 
(MPs) and political activists their views on reducing the 
number of electoral districts, a key component of political 
reform in Kuwait (ref. A and B).  Moderate Shi'a MP Dr. 
Yousef Al-Zalzalah expressed concern the reduction could 
disadvantage Kuwait's Shi'a minority, which represents nearly 
a third of the population.  Chairman of the Foreign Affairs 
Committee MP Mohammed Al-Sager said he preferred five 
districts to ten, but doubted whether any reduction proposal 
would be approved by the National Assembly without strong 
Government support, which he stated is currently lacking. 
(Note: There are 25 districts under the current electoral 
system; two MPs are elected from each district.  End note.) 
Liberal, independent MP Jamal Al-Omar said he opposed the 
reduction, arguing that Islamists would benefit most from the 
reform.  Although differing on specific aspects of the 
reform, most MPs agreed the Government was not doing enough 
to push for a reduction in the number of districts, and many 
doubted the Government's commitment to implementing electoral 
reform.  Comments made by MPs suggest momentum on electoral 
reform is faltering and both the Government and the National 
Assembly are drifting towards inaction.  End summary and 
comment. 
 
Electoral Reform Could Disadvantage Shi'a 
----------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) Moderate Shi'a MP Dr. Yousef Al-Zalzalah claimed 30 
out of the 50 MPs in the National Assembly opposed reducing 
the number of electoral districts and predicted the reform 
would falter in the next National Assembly session. 
Al-Zalzalah said the Prime Minister told him in a recent 
meeting that the Government would not push for electoral 
reform and that impetus for the reform should come from the 
National Assembly.  Al-Zalzalah said he supported reducing 
the number of electoral districts, but heavily qualified his 
support by saying electoral reform should not disadvantage 
Kuwait's Shi'a minority.  He criticized the two proposals to 
reduce the number of electoral districts introduced by 
Government during the last National Assembly session as 
discriminating against the Shi'a population.  In a previous 
meeting with Poloff, Al-Zalzalah predicted the Shi'a would 
lose two National Assembly seats if either of the 
Government's proposals was implemented.  (Note: There are 
currently five Shi'a MPs.  End note.) 
 
Five Is Better Than Ten Is Better Than Twenty-Five 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
3.  (C) Many MPs said they preferred five districts to ten. 
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee MP Mohammed 
Al-Sager, a liberal affiliated with the National Democratic 
Movement, said he preferred five districts, since even under 
a ten-district system some wealthy candidates could still 
afford to buy votes.  He said he was skeptical any reduction 
would be implemented, noting the Government was not pushing 
for the reform.  "If the Government was serious about 
political reform, it would reduce the number of electoral 
districts," Al-Sager concluded. 
 
4.  (C) Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Meshari 
Al-Anjari, an independent, liberal MP, also said he preferred 
five districts and echoed Al-Sager's complaint that the 
Government was not pushing hard enough for a reduction in the 
number of electoral districts.  "Unless the Prime Minister 
backs the reform, it won't happen," Al-Anajri commented. 
Former Kuwait Democratic Forum member and liberal MP Ali 
Al-Rashed told the Ambassador that while he preferred five 
electoral districts, he thought ten was "politically more 
feasible." 
 
5.  (C) Independent MP Ahmed AbdulMohsen Al-Mulaifi said he 
supported reducing the number of electoral districts, but 
claimed "the Prime Minister is not behind it."  Al-Mulaifi 
said the Prime Minister told him one of the two groups in the 
National Assembly whose support the Prime Minister needs on 
other issues is opposed to reducing the number of electoral 
districts; he did not specify who the two groups were. 
AbdulMohsen Taqi Muzaffar, the Secretary General of the 
Kuwait Democratic Forum, a liberal political association, 
told the Ambassador he hoped the number of electoral 
districts would be reduced, but he was "not optimistic."  He 
questioned the Government's commitment to the reform, arguing 
that it will lose influence in the National Assembly if the 
number of electoral districts is reduced. 
 
Interim Solution: Simpler Voter Registration System 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
6.  (C) Al-Mulaifi told the Ambassador he planned to 
introduce legislation to automatically register voters based 
on their civil identification numbers, greatly simplifying 
the voter registration process and increasing the number of 
voters.  (Note: Currently, eligible voters can only register 
to vote each February.  End note.)  He suggested this could 
be an interim step to reducing the number of electoral 
districts since it would achieve the same goal: increasing 
the number of voters per district and reducing electoral 
corruption.  Al-Mulaifi said the simpler system would also 
facilitate the registration of female voters. 
 
Who Benefits? 
------------- 
 
7.  (C) Liberal, government-leaning, independent MP Jamal 
Al-Omar told the Ambassador he opposed a reduction in the 
number of electoral districts, arguing that Islamists, who 
are better funded and better organized than other political 
groups, would benefit most from the reform.  He predicted 
Islamists would win three out of ten districts if the number 
of districts was reduced.  Al-Omar added that Islamists would 
use the women's vote to their advantage.  (Note: Islamist 
groups have publicly stated their intention to actively court 
the women's vote, despite their opposition to women's 
suffrage legislation.  Some observers fear conservative 
females will be pressured by their male relatives to vote for 
Islamist candidates.  End note.)  Pressure to reduce the 
number of districts comes primarily from candidates who lost 
in the last election, Al-Omar commented.  Noting that Kuwait 
is "not ready" for the reduction, Al-Omar said it would be 
better if voters could vote in any district they wanted. 
 
********************************************* 
Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website 
********************************************* 
LEBARON