STUDENT UNION ELECTIONS: A MICROCOSM OF POLITICS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 004378

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KISL KDEM KWMN SOCI KU
SUBJECT: STUDENT UNION ELECTIONS: A MICROCOSM OF POLITICS
IN KUWAIT

REF: KUWAIT 4313


1. (SBU) Summary and comment: The Islamic Alliance, a
partnership between two student parties affiliated with the
Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis, swept Kuwait University's
(KU) Student Union elections held in October. The Muslim
Brotherhood has dominated the influential Student Union,
which represents KU students to the faculty and
administration, since 1979. Other political associations in
Kuwait also actively support student parties, which are seen
as a fertile recruiting ground and a platform for spreading
political ideologies. In an October 9 article published in
Arabic-language daily Al-Seyassah, Director of the Center for
Strategic and Future Studies at KU Dr. Shamlan Al-Essa said
the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated student association, the
Coalition Group, gains students' support by providing a
variety of services to students throughout their university
career and even beyond. One faculty member said the
13-member Student Union wields more influence with the
administration than the Faculty Association and was
influential in pushing a gender separation policy in
classrooms. He also said the student groups receive
financial support from political associations and/or their
wealthy parents. Dr. Ibrahim Hadban, a moderate Islamist
political science professor, highlighted the active role
played by female students and suggested this indicated women
would vote independently in national elections.


2. (SBU) Elections at the university are a microcosm of
politics in Kuwait, representing both the major political
trends and the reliance of many Municipal Council and
National Assembly members on political support derived from
providing services to their constituents. In a recent visit
to KU, Poloff observed campaign posters from the main student
groups plastered all over the campus, attesting to the
vibrancy of political debate at the university and Kuwait's
potential for an open, democratic political system. Student
elections also may also foretell which groups might dominate
national elections if the Government implemented major
political reforms. (End summary and comment.)

Gender Separation, Women's Rights, and More Cafeteria Space
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) Five student parties participated in the recent,
hotly-contested elections for Kuwait University's Student
Union: the Coalition Group, Islamic Unity, the Free Islamic
Movement, the Independent Group, and Democratic Circle.
While running separately in college-level elections, two of
the parties - the Coalition Group and Islamic Unity, which
are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and the
Traditional Salafis, respectively - partnered in the Student
Union election to form the Islamic Alliance and campaigned on
the same ticket. The 13-member Student Union represents the
university's more than 20,000 students to the faculty and
administration and wields considerable influence on campus.
The elections are held on a winner-take-all basis: all 13
members of the union come from the winning student group.
Election campaigns focus largely on national rather than
university issues. In the recent elections, candidates
debated over issues ranging from the role of Islam in society
to support for women's political rights to the need for more
cafeteria space. The Islamic Alliance dominated this year's
elections, receiving 5097 votes (3038 female and 2059 male),
or 48.4% of the 10526 votes cast. (Note: 5816 females and
4710 males voted in the Student Union elections. End note.)


4. (SBU) Several female members of the Muslim
Brotherhood-affiliated Coalition Group told Poloff they
supported gender separation in classes and women's political
rights. The group's pamphlets claimed the Islamic Alliance,
to which the Coalition Group belongs, represents 50% of KU
students. The Coalition Group has won the Student Union
elections every year since 1979; many of its former leaders
are now active in Kuwait politics.


5. (SBU) The Salafi-affiliated Islamic Unity party espouses
moderate Islamic ideology and supports democracy, the group's
election pamphlets stated. The pamphlets also highlighted
the services provided by the group, which included: "parties,
meetings, summits, a student prayer area, a photocopy center,
computer training, and exhibitions."


6. (SBU) Rival student parties represent the political
spectrum in Kuwait and are backed by various political
movements in the country. The second-largest student party,
the Independence Group, is a moderate Islamic party supported
by Kuwait's merchant families. Female members of the group
told Poloff they supported women's political rights, but
opposed gender separation at the university. They also
emphasized the need for more cafeteria space on campus. The
group's campaign pamphlets highlighted the group's opposition
to tribalism and sectarianism, support for equality and
cooperation in the Arab world, and belief that "Islam is the
way to all our answers." The Independence Group received
2781 votes (26.4% of the total),1150 female and 1631 male,
in the recent elections.


7. (SBU) Female students from the liberal Democratic Circle
said they were opposed to gender separation in classes, but
supported women's political rights. Election pamphlets
highlighted the group's respect for other ideas, its support
for equality, freedom, and human rights, and the need for
national unity. "Our group's main target is to avoid
discrimination and extremism and to treat everyone the same
way, regardless of their tribe, religion, or family," the
pamphlets stated. The Democratic Circle received 1363 votes
(13% of the total),890 female and 473 male, in the recent
elections.


8. (SBU) The Free Islamic Group promotes equal rights for
Kuwait's minority Shi'a population and received 1285 votes
(12.2% of the total),738 female and 547 male, in the recent
elections.

Bringing the University to Mohammed
--------------


9. (SBU) In an October 9 article published in
Arabic-language daily Al-Seyassah and entitled, "Why Do They
Win,' Director of the Center for Strategic and Future Studies
at KU Dr. Shamlan Al-Essa argued the Coalition Group's
popularity on campus derives from the services it provides to
students. In exchange for their votes, the Coalition Group
assists students with resolving administrative issues,
researching school projects, and even finding internships and
post-graduation employment, Al-Essa said. In addition, new
students are recruited to join the Coalition Group by members
of the Social Reform Society, the charity arm of the Muslim
Brotherhood in Kuwait, as soon as they enroll in the
university. Al-Essa suggested this aggressive strategy was
why students who were active in the Student Union "have now
become Undersecretaries, Assistant Undersecretaries, National
Assembly Members, and senior members of the Islamic
Constitutional Movement and Islamic banks."


10. (SBU) "The Student Union has more influence with the
administration than the Faculty Association," Vice Dean for
Student Affairs and President of the University Faculty
Association Dr. Ajeel Al-Zaher told Poloff. He cited as
evidence the Student Union's successful push to require
separate lecture times for male and female students, which
was approved by the National Assembly in 1996 despite the
Faculty Association's objections. (Note: The university was
given five years to implement the law. According to
Al-Zaher, approximately 80% of university courses now have
separate lecture times for male and female students. End
note.) Al-Zaher also said the student groups receive
financial support from political movements in Kuwait and/or
their wealthy parents.


11. (SBU) Political Science Professor and columnist Dr.
Ibrahim Hadban downplayed the ideological dimension of the
Student Union elections in an October 9 meeting. "Today, the
student groups are not radically different from each other,"
he said. "Even Islamist groups, who used to pray piously
when they won elections, celebrate loudly with music and food
when their candidates are elected," he commented. Student
groups are more like "sports teams," he added. Hadban
highlighted the active role of female students in the student
elections and said he saw this as an indication that women
would vote independently in national elections and would not
be pressured to vote for particular candidates by their male
relatives.

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