FREEDOM AGENDA: MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT SPEAK OUT ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 004352

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KDEM KISL KU FREEDOM AGENDA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT SPEAK OUT ON
ELECTORAL REFORM DURING AMBASSADOR'S RAMADAN DIWANIYA CALLS

REF: A. KUWAIT 4314


B. KUWAIT 4293

C. KUWAIT 3178

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary and comment: During his nightly courtesy
visits to diwaniyas during Ramadan, which began October 4,
the Ambassador has been asking National Assembly members
(MPs) and political activists their views on reducing the
number of electoral districts, a key component of political
reform in Kuwait (ref. A and B). Moderate Shi'a MP Dr.
Yousef Al-Zalzalah expressed concern the reduction could
disadvantage Kuwait's Shi'a minority, which represents nearly
a third of the population. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Committee MP Mohammed Al-Sager said he preferred five
districts to ten, but doubted whether any reduction proposal
would be approved by the National Assembly without strong
Government support, which he stated is currently lacking.
(Note: There are 25 districts under the current electoral
system; two MPs are elected from each district. End note.)
Liberal, independent MP Jamal Al-Omar said he opposed the
reduction, arguing that Islamists would benefit most from the
reform. Although differing on specific aspects of the
reform, most MPs agreed the Government was not doing enough
to push for a reduction in the number of districts, and many
doubted the Government's commitment to implementing electoral
reform. Comments made by MPs suggest momentum on electoral
reform is faltering and both the Government and the National
Assembly are drifting towards inaction. End summary and
comment.

Electoral Reform Could Disadvantage Shi'a
--------------


2. (C) Moderate Shi'a MP Dr. Yousef Al-Zalzalah claimed 30
out of the 50 MPs in the National Assembly opposed reducing
the number of electoral districts and predicted the reform
would falter in the next National Assembly session.
Al-Zalzalah said the Prime Minister told him in a recent
meeting that the Government would not push for electoral
reform and that impetus for the reform should come from the
National Assembly. Al-Zalzalah said he supported reducing
the number of electoral districts, but heavily qualified his
support by saying electoral reform should not disadvantage
Kuwait's Shi'a minority. He criticized the two proposals to
reduce the number of electoral districts introduced by
Government during the last National Assembly session as
discriminating against the Shi'a population. In a previous
meeting with Poloff, Al-Zalzalah predicted the Shi'a would
lose two National Assembly seats if either of the
Government's proposals was implemented. (Note: There are
currently five Shi'a MPs. End note.)

Five Is Better Than Ten Is Better Than Twenty-Five
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Many MPs said they preferred five districts to ten.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee MP Mohammed
Al-Sager, a liberal affiliated with the National Democratic
Movement, said he preferred five districts, since even under
a ten-district system some wealthy candidates could still
afford to buy votes. He said he was skeptical any reduction
would be implemented, noting the Government was not pushing
for the reform. "If the Government was serious about
political reform, it would reduce the number of electoral
districts," Al-Sager concluded.


4. (C) Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Meshari
Al-Anjari, an independent, liberal MP, also said he preferred
five districts and echoed Al-Sager's complaint that the
Government was not pushing hard enough for a reduction in the
number of electoral districts. "Unless the Prime Minister
backs the reform, it won't happen," Al-Anajri commented.
Former Kuwait Democratic Forum member and liberal MP Ali
Al-Rashed told the Ambassador that while he preferred five
electoral districts, he thought ten was "politically more
feasible."


5. (C) Independent MP Ahmed AbdulMohsen Al-Mulaifi said he
supported reducing the number of electoral districts, but
claimed "the Prime Minister is not behind it." Al-Mulaifi
said the Prime Minister told him one of the two groups in the
National Assembly whose support the Prime Minister needs on
other issues is opposed to reducing the number of electoral
districts; he did not specify who the two groups were.
AbdulMohsen Taqi Muzaffar, the Secretary General of the
Kuwait Democratic Forum, a liberal political association,
told the Ambassador he hoped the number of electoral
districts would be reduced, but he was "not optimistic." He
questioned the Government's commitment to the reform, arguing
that it will lose influence in the National Assembly if the
number of electoral districts is reduced.

Interim Solution: Simpler Voter Registration System
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Al-Mulaifi told the Ambassador he planned to
introduce legislation to automatically register voters based
on their civil identification numbers, greatly simplifying
the voter registration process and increasing the number of
voters. (Note: Currently, eligible voters can only register
to vote each February. End note.) He suggested this could
be an interim step to reducing the number of electoral
districts since it would achieve the same goal: increasing
the number of voters per district and reducing electoral
corruption. Al-Mulaifi said the simpler system would also
facilitate the registration of female voters.

Who Benefits?
--------------


7. (C) Liberal, government-leaning, independent MP Jamal
Al-Omar told the Ambassador he opposed a reduction in the
number of electoral districts, arguing that Islamists, who
are better funded and better organized than other political
groups, would benefit most from the reform. He predicted
Islamists would win three out of ten districts if the number
of districts was reduced. Al-Omar added that Islamists would
use the women's vote to their advantage. (Note: Islamist
groups have publicly stated their intention to actively court
the women's vote, despite their opposition to women's
suffrage legislation. Some observers fear conservative
females will be pressured by their male relatives to vote for
Islamist candidates. End note.) Pressure to reduce the
number of districts comes primarily from candidates who lost
in the last election, Al-Omar commented. Noting that Kuwait
is "not ready" for the reduction, Al-Omar said it would be
better if voters could vote in any district they wanted.

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