US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT5016

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 005016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI; LONDON FOR TSOU; PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, KWMN, SOCI, KPAO, PINR, KU, 
FREEDOM AGENDA 
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA:  PARLIAMENT SPEAKER SUPPORTS 
ELECTORAL DISTRICT REFORM, SAYS PARTIES WILL EVENTUALLY FORM 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 4933 
     B. KUWAIT 4480 
     C. KUWAIT 4378 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  National Assembly Speaker Jassem 
Al-Khorafi told the Ambassador December 5 that discussions on 
reducing the number of electoral constituencies were 
important to Kuwait's political future, but complicated due 
to a lack of consensus on the number and shape of electoral 
districts.  He faulted the GOK for not having a clear vision 
and failing to advocate a position, and said there was no 
unified position among the 50 MPs.  He said that larger 
electoral districts would lead to elections based on issues 
and the eventual formation of political parties. 
Redistricting would also facilitate the political 
participation of women, but he was not hopeful that a woman 
would be elected to Parliament in 2007 and predicted that 
women voters would support Islamist candidates.  He praised 
GOK-National Assembly cooperation on the new press law and 
predicted that it would soon be passed.  Commenting on 
succession, he said Kuwaitis accepted that PM Shaykh Sabah 
would one day become Crown Prince, but in the interim, 
enjoyed gossip on ruling family internal strife.  End summary. 
 
Electoral Reform Necessary, but GOK Not Making its Case 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
2.  (C)  During a December 5 meeting, the Ambassador queried 
National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi on the ongoing 
debate about reducing the number of electoral constituencies 
from twenty-five to ten.  Al-Khorafi said the issue was 
difficult and complicated by the fact that there was no 
consensus on the appropriate number of constituencies -- five 
or ten -- or their geographical boundaries.  He criticized 
the GOK for submitting last year two redistricting plans, 
each of which calls for ten districts although the boundaries 
are different, and said there had been sufficient support for 
the first plan to pass.  He said the Government had so far 
failed to make its preference clear and, without staking out 
a position and aggressively promoting it, he does not predict 
that change will come soon.  He would not be surprised if 
there were still 25 electoral districts at the time of the 
2007 parliamentary elections. 
 
Parties are Inevitable, but Not Right Now 
----------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C)  He further remarked that redistricting would 
drastically affect Kuwaiti politics.  Fewer districts and a 
bigger electorate in each constituency would reduce personal 
contact between MPs and voters, thereby forcing elections to 
be issue-driven rather than constituent service-driven. 
Responding to the Ambassador's question about whether a 
decrease in the number of electoral constituencies would lead 
to the formation of recognized political parties, Al-Khorafi 
said political parties were inevitable, but it was not the 
right time.  Referring to his October speech at Parliament's 
opening, he said Kuwait could not deny the presence of 
political groupings which already form a basis for a party 
structure, but time was needed to prepare the legal framework 
for parties and to educate the populace (ref B).  As long as 
tribal affiliation, religion, and family connections, 
resulting in "50 MPs and 50 parties," dominated Kuwaiti 
political life, parties were not viable. 
 
Women Will Back the Islamists 
----------------------------- 
 
4.  (C)  Al-Khorafi shared the view that reducing the number 
of constituencies would facilitate the political 
participation of women.  He doubted, however, that women 
would be elected to Parliament in 2007 and predicted that 
women voters would support conservative and Islamist 
candidates.  He reported that women already vote in 
university elections and in elections for neighborhood 
cooperative boards, emphasizing that both groups are 
dominated by Islamists (ref C).  He feared that an 
Islamist-controlled Parliament would push for stricter laws 
to even further segregate men and women in public places. 
The Ambassador asked whether people in Kuwait were watching 
the situation in Egypt.  The Speaker said, "Egypt needed what 
happened."  Given low voter turnout, he discounted the impact 
of the Muslim Brotherhood on Egyptian politics, but said it 
was a good lesson that the "age of 99.9 per cent voter 
participation ended with the fall of Saddam Hussein." 
 
5.  (C)  Further commenting on women's political 
 
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participation, he said a quota for female representation in 
Parliament would require a constitutional amendment and was a 
non-starter.  In his view, the GOK had done the heavy lifting 
to secure universal suffrage and Kuwaiti women needed to work 
hard to exercise their rights. 
 
New Press Law Opens the Door for Newspaper Ownership 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
6.  (C)  Turning to other legislation under consideration, 
Al-Khorafi said the GOK and Parliament overcame on December 4 
an important hurdle related to the proposed Press and 
Publications Law:  the GOK accepted the National Assembly 
position that any complaint under the law would be heard by 
the courts and not the Cabinet, a significant change in the 
law.  He noted a few other "sticking points," but said 
Minister of Information Anas Al-Rasheed would soon meet with 
the Education, Culture, and Guidance Committee of the 
National Assembly to clarify aspects of the legislation.  He 
anticipated that the law would be passed during this Assembly 
session and commented that it was a good law in the sense 
that it would give greater freedom for newspaper ownership. 
He expressed, concern, however, that a plethora of papers in 
a small community could lead to use of the press for 
blackmail and influence-peddling.  Nevertheless, that was the 
price of freedom of speech and the papers and their editors 
would bear the burden to not be used for unlawful purposes. 
He added that the GOK was not pushing the new Labor Law and 
commented that any draft legislation having a lot of articles 
was difficult for Parliament to approve.  MPs preferred short 
laws and were loathe to act quickly on anything, such as the 
Tax Law, that might be considered a burden to Kuwaiti 
citizens. 
 
Succession Debate is Yesterday's News 
------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (C)  Recapping the succession debate, Al-Khorafi said 
Kuwaitis liked to talk and internal disputes among the ruling 
family made for good subject matter.  It was common knowledge 
that Shaykh Salem's comments on succession were based on 
personal issues regarding wealth and position.  He said all 
Kuwaitis knew of and understood the Crown Prince's condition 
and accepted that Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed 
Al-Jaber Al-Sabah would eventually become Crown Prince. 
Nevertheless, Kuwait was a sentimental society and a special 
relationship existed between the citizens and CP Shaykh Saad; 
there was support for leaving the CP in office as the Saudi 
royal family had done with King Fahd.  Kuwaitis trusted that 
in the event of the CP's death, the family would handle the 
matter.  He added that while Parkinson's disease had 
physically debilitated the Amir, his mind was still sharp and 
when he asked the Speaker to comment on succession, we was 
sending a clear message to Shaykh Salem and his supporters 
(ref A). 
 
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LEBARON