KUWAITI WOMEN'S MUNICIPAL POLITICAL RIGHTS REMAIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001808 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2015 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KWMN KU WOMEN POLITICAL RIGHTS SUBJECT: KUWAITI WOMEN'S MUNICIPAL POLITICAL RIGHTS REMAIN IN LIMBO; MAY 2 VOTE INDECISIVE; POSSIBLE RE-VOTE MAY 3 REF: A. KUWAIT 1633 ¶B. KUWAIT 944 ¶C. 04 KUWAIT 4540 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Summary: The results of the second round of Parliamentary voting May 2 on an amendment to the Municipal Law granting women political rights at the municipal level were 29 in favor, 2 against and 29 abstentions, sparking a debate as to the actual outcome. Some MPs claim a quorum was not reached since the yes and no votes did not total 33, one vote more than half of the 64-member Parliament. Others assert the measure failed since, according to constitutional law, a quorum was reached but the equal number of yes votes and abstentions caused an outright failure. The same measure had passed during the first round April 19 by a vote of 26 to 20 (ref A). A re-vote may take place as early as May 3 although the date, like the actual outcome of the May 2 vote, remains uncertain. End summary. The Vote Itself -------------- ¶2. (U) Twenty-nine votes, by 12 Ministers and 17 MPs, were cast in favor of giving women Municipal Council political rights while two MPs voted against the bill. The 29 abstentions, mainly composed of opposition and "pro-Government" MPs, forced Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi to declare a "suspended" vote. Some MPs claimed the lack of 33 yes and no votes constituted a lack of quorum. Others asserted the proposal failed outright as there were more than 33 total votes, although there was an equal number of yes votes and abstentions resulting in a failed vote according to the Constitution. (Note and comment: There are currently 50 MPs and 14 Ministers; however, Justice Minister Ahmed Baqer is also an elected MP, permitting him to cast only one vote for a total of 63. Reportedly 60 Assemblymen voted May 2 while another four were absent for a total of 64, which conflicts with Post's calculation. End note and comment.) Women's rights activist Rola Dashti told EmbOffs the GOK instructed pro-government MPs to abstain, fueling speculation that either the GOK wasn't serious about passing the measure, or that the GOK knew it would not have enough votes to pass and decided to scuttle the vote to avoid a defeat on the bill. ¶3. (U) Two Ministers, Justice Minister Ahmed Baqer and Social Affairs and Labor Minister Faisal Al-Hajji, and two MPs, Issam Al-Dabbous and Walid Al-Osaimi, were absent. Minister Al-Hajji is out of the country on business, and MP Al-Osaimi is in a London hospital recovering from an apparent stroke in late April. Salafi Justice Minister Ahmed Baqer, however, openly opposes women's political rights, but the reason for his absence is unknown. Baqer's absence could give the impression that the Prime Minister is allowing dissent in his cabinet and therefore may not be as serious as he claims about the issue of women's political rights or that Baqer and the PM were avoiding an embarrassing public display of their differing vies on the issue. ¶4. (U) Female Kuwaiti observers were noticeably absent from the visitors' gallery. Poloff counted approximately 20 women compared to the hundreds who attended the March 7 session requesting expedited consideration of granting women's suffrage (ref B). Dashti was the only one donning blue, the adopted color of the Kuwaiti women's rights movement, with the "women are Kuwaiti too" t-shirt. She mentioned that women had become frustrated with the process but requested updates via text message. The session opened in the morning with a GOK motion to allow discussion on the Municipal Law before that of a proposed public sector salary increase. The measure failed 26 to 32. Once the Municipal Law amendment vote approached in the early afternoon, a shouting match erupted between MP Waleed Al-Jari and the Speaker who accused the MP of intentionally delaying the vote by repeatedly interrupting calls to initiate the roll call tally. After the Speaker announced that the measure had not passed, applause broke out in the chamber. GOK Officials Uncertain of Outcome -------------- ¶5. (C) Chairman of the Assembly's Foreign Relations Committee, and strong supporter of women's rights, MP Mohammed Al-Sager told the Ambassador in an initial call after the vote that he wasn't clear on exactly what had happened. He characterized the government's position as "a boxer hit in the head and almost knocked out." He added, "I don't think the Government did its homework. It's a draw." Al-Sager asked for an hour to collect more precise information and called back with the following: --The 29 abstentions don't figure in the final count, and the result is that there was no quorum. The issue will be discussed again tomorrow, May 3. If the Government puts pressure on the MPs, it can pass tomorrow. However, there are two views of what happened May 2: 1) the measure failed and 2) there was no quorum. There will be a very big debate about the procedural/constitutional issues stemming from the May 2 vote. The Government wants to pass the amendment; they are eager to do it, but the government is weak. "Imagine that all the 'pro-Government' MPs are against them." Shaykh Sabah "almost begged" them to support the measure when he should be ordering them to vote in favor of the GOK position. ¶6. (C) The Ambassador also queried Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs Khalid Jarallah about GOK views on the result. Jarallah asked for some time to consult and got back to the Ambassador two hours later with these observations: -- The conclusion from today's vote was that the Government failed to pass the measure; there was no question about that. The Government succeeded in getting agreement from both sides that they would vote again later on, maybe tomorrow, but maybe next week. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister left to attend a wedding in the UAE. (Note: Jarallah didn't say when they would return, but he seemed to indicate that the vote would be postponed at least until next week.) When the Ambassador observed that the vote today seemed to be not a good sign for the future of the issue, Jarallah said, "I agree with you, it is not a good sign; it's a very bad sign." ¶7. (C) Shaykh Mohammed Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, the eldest surviving grandson of late Amir Shaykh Mubarak the Great (ref C),told the Ambassador April 30 that the GOK was one vote short of passing the amendment. Some MPs, he added, offered to vote in favor were the GOK to approve a pay raise for civil servants and cancel old electricity bills for citizens. This price, according to Shaykh Mohammed Al-Abdullah, was simply too high. He also predicted an attempt to postpone June's Municipal Council elections, allowing women time to register to vote, would fail despite winning approval in the April 19 Assembly session. Shaykh Mohammed Al-Abdullah mentioned that he attended an event recently in Farwaniya, 15km south of Kuwait City, during which Kuwaiti women expressed a greater interest in a government salary increase and the right to own Government-granted property than in the right to vote. With respect to full political rights, Shaykh Mohammed Al-Abdullah does not believe women will obtain them this year. ********************************************* 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