(C) DEFEATED ISLAMIST OFFERS VIEWS ON KUWAITI

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