LEGISLATION PASSED AUTOMATICALLY REGISTERING ALL

UNCLAS KUWAIT 005183 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KWMN KU WOMEN POLITICAL RIGHTS SUBJECT: LEGISLATION PASSED AUTOMATICALLY REGISTERING ALL ELIGIBLE FEMALE VOTERS BY THE END OF FEBRUARY 2006 ¶1. Following the May 16 decision to grant women full political rights, the National Assembly on December 13 approved a temporary amendment to the 1962 election law to facilitate the first-time registration of female voters in Kuwait. The amendment requires, for this registration period only, the Public Authority for Civil Information to provide the Ministry of Interior (MOI) with a list of all eligible female voters (approximately 200,000),using their civil identification numbers, by the end of February 2006. The women on this list will be automatically registered to vote after the MOI verifies citizenship and address information. The Amir must still approve the amendment before it takes effect. ¶2. The temporary amendment does not affect male voters who must register to vote in February in person at a registration center, providing copies of both their Kuwaiti nationality papers and their civil identification cards. Male and female voters wanting to change/update their voter registration information can do so through personal appearance from February 1 to March 20. Complaints about and objections to the registration list will be settled by the MOI from March 20 to June 30; a final copy of the voter list will be published in the official gazette in early July. ********************************************* 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 ********************************************* TUELLER