US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT3217

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003217 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2013 
TAGS: PREL, KU 
SUBJECT: (C) DEFEATED ISLAMIST OFFERS VIEWS ON KUWAITI 
POLITICS 
 
REF: KUWAIT 2992 
 
Classified By: ADCM John G. Moran for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador and Poloff visited ex-MP and 
unabashed Islamist Mubarak Al-Dowailah on July 16.  During an 
unusually candid conversation, Dowailah offered his views on 
his defeat, the new government, the future of Islamism in the 
upcoming National Assembly, and the prospect of established 
political parties in Kuwait. End Summary. 
 
Allegations of GOK vote buying and ballot tampering 
 
2. (C) The Ambassador and Poloff visited defeated Islamic 
Constitutional Movement (ICM) MP, Mubarak al-Dowailah in the 
office of his engineering firm on July 16.  (Note: Dowailah 
is the owner of a large engineering firm responsible for the 
design and construction of some of the most modern buildings 
in Kuwait. End Note.)  Reeling from an unexpected political 
defeat, Dowailah said he had no doubt that pro-government 
forces were behind the upset of both himself and his former 
colleague, Mubarak al-Khrainej, both of whom represented 
Omariya, the 16th of Kuwait,s 25 political constituencies. 
Dowailah claims the GOK allocated KD 500,000 (roughly $1.5 
million) to the would-be winners of the constituency, current 
MP's Daifallah Buramiya and Mohammed al-Faji, for use in 
buying votes to ensure Dowailah was not returned to office. 
He said the pro-government candidates had not intended to 
unseat al-Khrainej, but had miscalculated their vote buying 
and vote trading by about 100 votes, which led to Khrainej's 
ouster. (Note: Kuwait's National Assembly seats ) 2 per 
district ) go to the top two voter getters. End Note.)  In 
addition, Dowailah explained in detail his much-publicized 
allegation of vote tampering.  During the elections, he said, 
the polling station had been closed for two hours, a period 
in which the keys to the polling station had been handed to 
either Kuwaiti police or members of the Kuwait State Security 
(KSS) forces.  Although Dowailah's brother has filed a 
petition contesting the elections, Dowailah, a member of the 
National Assembly since before the occupation of Kuwait, 
indicated he would sit the next four years out.  "I,ll have 
a good chance in the next elections," he said, adding that he 
intends to stay active in the political arena by writing a 
regular column in one of the local newspapers. 
 
ICM Electoral Losses Huge; Islamists not so successful 
 
3. (C) Contrary to reports by western news agencies, the 
election appears not to have been such a windfall for 
Islamists.  For example, all eleven of the candidates 
supported by the ICM were soundly defeated, and ICM's numbers 
in the National Assembly fell from six to two.  When asked by 
the Ambassador the extent to which Islamists were now united, 
Dowailah offered only that the ICM had held a seven hour 
meeting the previous night in which the movement had fired 
every one of its political section employees ) hardly a 
resounding indication of unity in the Islamist camp.  That 
said, Dowailah explained that Islamists now view themselves 
as the only opposition group in the new National Assembly, 
and they may form new battle lines with this in mind. 
 
The New Cabinet 
 
4. (C) Dowailah characterized the new government as "weak," 
and noted that the de-linking of the Crown Price post from 
that of Prime Minister has made it easier for MP,s to attack 
Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah.  Despite including a number of 
"strong" ministers, e.g. Minister of Commerce Abdullah 
Taweel, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaykh Dr. Mohammed 
Al-Sabah, Minister of Energy, Shaykh Ahmed Fahad and Minister 
of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Abdullah Matouq, Dowailah said 
the cabinet was "not strong enough to face Parliament," 
indicating we can expect further parliamentary grillings.  In 
particular, Dowailah slammed Minister of Interior, Shaykh 
Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah as "too weak" and a minister 
"unwilling to play politics."  Also in his sights were 
Minister of Defense Shaykh Jaber Mubarak, for pandering to 
the wishes of MP's by approving too many requests for 
expensive military health services for unqualified 
beneficiaries, and Minister of Information, Mohammed 
Abulhassan, whom he warned had used "sensitive" language when 
he had called for additional press freedom. 
 
Losses tied to call for Political Parties 
 
5. (C) Reflecting upon the overall reasons for Islamist 
losses, Dowailah said the ICM had overextended itself when it 
had called for political parties in its platform.  He said 
that Kuwaitis do not like the term 'party,' which they 
associate with the pan-arabists such as the Ba'ath, although 
they accept that various parliamentary blocs are de-facto 
parties.  "Actually, we are parties," Dowailah said, "which 
is much better for democracy." 
6. (C) Comment:  Dowailah's parting comments about Islamist 
losses point to an oft-overlooked fact: Islamists are 
sometimes genuine reformers, whose goals (at least, in the 
short-run) may coincide with ours.  Although one may question 
the motives of a group which frequently finds itself in the 
political minority, the ICM's platform did indeed call for 
the adoption of a more modern, transparent political system 
through the formalization of political parties.  While many 
Islamists views are at odds with us, we should not 
automatically paint them all with the same brush. 
JONES