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.

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