FREEDOM AGENDA: PARLIAMENT SPEAKER SUPPORTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 005016

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FOR NEA/ARPI; LONDON FOR TSOU; PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KWMN SOCI KPAO PINR KU
FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: PARLIAMENT SPEAKER SUPPORTS
ELECTORAL DISTRICT REFORM, SAYS PARTIES WILL EVENTUALLY FORM

REF: A. KUWAIT 4933

B. KUWAIT 4480

C. KUWAIT 4378

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


1. (C) Summary: National Assembly Speaker Jassem
Al-Khorafi told the Ambassador December 5 that discussions on
reducing the number of electoral constituencies were
important to Kuwait's political future, but complicated due
to a lack of consensus on the number and shape of electoral
districts. He faulted the GOK for not having a clear vision
and failing to advocate a position, and said there was no
unified position among the 50 MPs. He said that larger
electoral districts would lead to elections based on issues
and the eventual formation of political parties.
Redistricting would also facilitate the political
participation of women, but he was not hopeful that a woman
would be elected to Parliament in 2007 and predicted that
women voters would support Islamist candidates. He praised
GOK-National Assembly cooperation on the new press law and
predicted that it would soon be passed. Commenting on
succession, he said Kuwaitis accepted that PM Shaykh Sabah
would one day become Crown Prince, but in the interim,
enjoyed gossip on ruling family internal strife. End summary.

Electoral Reform Necessary, but GOK Not Making its Case
-------------- --------------


2. (C) During a December 5 meeting, the Ambassador queried
National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi on the ongoing
debate about reducing the number of electoral constituencies
from twenty-five to ten. Al-Khorafi said the issue was
difficult and complicated by the fact that there was no
consensus on the appropriate number of constituencies -- five
or ten -- or their geographical boundaries. He criticized
the GOK for submitting last year two redistricting plans,
each of which calls for ten districts although the boundaries
are different, and said there had been sufficient support for
the first plan to pass. He said the Government had so far
failed to make its preference clear and, without staking out
a position and aggressively promoting it, he does not predict
that change will come soon. He would not be surprised if
there were still 25 electoral districts at the time of the
2007 parliamentary elections.

Parties are Inevitable, but Not Right Now
--------------


3. (C) He further remarked that redistricting would
drastically affect Kuwaiti politics. Fewer districts and a
bigger electorate in each constituency would reduce personal
contact between MPs and voters, thereby forcing elections to
be issue-driven rather than constituent service-driven.
Responding to the Ambassador's question about whether a
decrease in the number of electoral constituencies would lead
to the formation of recognized political parties, Al-Khorafi
said political parties were inevitable, but it was not the
right time. Referring to his October speech at Parliament's
opening, he said Kuwait could not deny the presence of
political groupings which already form a basis for a party
structure, but time was needed to prepare the legal framework
for parties and to educate the populace (ref B). As long as
tribal affiliation, religion, and family connections,
resulting in "50 MPs and 50 parties," dominated Kuwaiti
political life, parties were not viable.

Women Will Back the Islamists
--------------


4. (C) Al-Khorafi shared the view that reducing the number
of constituencies would facilitate the political
participation of women. He doubted, however, that women
would be elected to Parliament in 2007 and predicted that
women voters would support conservative and Islamist
candidates. He reported that women already vote in
university elections and in elections for neighborhood
cooperative boards, emphasizing that both groups are
dominated by Islamists (ref C). He feared that an
Islamist-controlled Parliament would push for stricter laws
to even further segregate men and women in public places.
The Ambassador asked whether people in Kuwait were watching
the situation in Egypt. The Speaker said, "Egypt needed what
happened." Given low voter turnout, he discounted the impact
of the Muslim Brotherhood on Egyptian politics, but said it
was a good lesson that the "age of 99.9 per cent voter
participation ended with the fall of Saddam Hussein."


5. (C) Further commenting on women's political

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participation, he said a quota for female representation in
Parliament would require a constitutional amendment and was a
non-starter. In his view, the GOK had done the heavy lifting
to secure universal suffrage and Kuwaiti women needed to work
hard to exercise their rights.

New Press Law Opens the Door for Newspaper Ownership
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Turning to other legislation under consideration,
Al-Khorafi said the GOK and Parliament overcame on December 4
an important hurdle related to the proposed Press and
Publications Law: the GOK accepted the National Assembly
position that any complaint under the law would be heard by
the courts and not the Cabinet, a significant change in the
law. He noted a few other "sticking points," but said
Minister of Information Anas Al-Rasheed would soon meet with
the Education, Culture, and Guidance Committee of the
National Assembly to clarify aspects of the legislation. He
anticipated that the law would be passed during this Assembly
session and commented that it was a good law in the sense
that it would give greater freedom for newspaper ownership.
He expressed, concern, however, that a plethora of papers in
a small community could lead to use of the press for
blackmail and influence-peddling. Nevertheless, that was the
price of freedom of speech and the papers and their editors
would bear the burden to not be used for unlawful purposes.
He added that the GOK was not pushing the new Labor Law and
commented that any draft legislation having a lot of articles
was difficult for Parliament to approve. MPs preferred short
laws and were loathe to act quickly on anything, such as the
Tax Law, that might be considered a burden to Kuwaiti
citizens.

Succession Debate is Yesterday's News
--------------


7. (C) Recapping the succession debate, Al-Khorafi said
Kuwaitis liked to talk and internal disputes among the ruling
family made for good subject matter. It was common knowledge
that Shaykh Salem's comments on succession were based on
personal issues regarding wealth and position. He said all
Kuwaitis knew of and understood the Crown Prince's condition
and accepted that Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed
Al-Jaber Al-Sabah would eventually become Crown Prince.
Nevertheless, Kuwait was a sentimental society and a special
relationship existed between the citizens and CP Shaykh Saad;
there was support for leaving the CP in office as the Saudi
royal family had done with King Fahd. Kuwaitis trusted that
in the event of the CP's death, the family would handle the
matter. He added that while Parkinson's disease had
physically debilitated the Amir, his mind was still sharp and
when he asked the Speaker to comment on succession, we was
sending a clear message to Shaykh Salem and his supporters
(ref A).

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