KUWAIT MEDIA ELECTION COVERAGE MAY 25-31: A CLEAR SPLIT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 002081

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/P, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR,
I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN
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PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO KDEM PGOV KU FREDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA ELECTION COVERAGE MAY 25-31: A CLEAR SPLIT
EMERGES

REF: KUWAIT 2026 AND PREVIOUS


1. Summary: A divide has emerged in how the Kuwait media are
covering the upcoming parliamentary elections. Newspapers, which
are privately owned, are delving with delight into controversial
matters such as vote buying, women candidates and whether members of
the ruling family should stand for election. Kuwait's only private
TV station too has aired some hearty political commentary. By stark
contrast, public television is under strict instructions from the
Minister of Information to limit coverage to follow-up on
election-related events and to broadcast only opinions that are
presented in a neutral manner. As a result, the public are turning
to newspapers and private TV for election information while public
TV is virtually silent on the hot topic gripping the country. End
summary.

Riveting Headlines Sell Papers
--------------


2. Kuwait's five Arabic-language and three English-language
newspapers are dedicating large sections of their publications to
upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 29. Moreover,
they sometimes are grabbing attention, and buyers, with riveting
headlines such as: "Poll Fever Heats Up," Kuwait Times, May 24;
"Al-Mulaifi Urges Governmental Parties to Stop Bribing Voters,"
Al-Qabas, May 30; and "Reformists Demand International Observers,"
The Daily Star, May 24.


3. Stories in the print media have run the gamut of election-related
topics, but the main focus has been on newly declared candidates and
their platforms. (Note: The ten-day candidate registration period
ended June 3. End note.) Several other key issues have emerged,
however, that are receiving increased scrutiny in the press. They
are: women candidates, corruption, and whether the law permits
members of the ruling family to run for office (reftel).

A Woman's Place: The Parliament, Palace or Home?
-------------- ---


4. As of the June 3 candidate registration deadline, 402 candidates
have declared their intention to run for a seat in the National
Assembly. Of these, 32, some eight percent, are women. Kuwait's
first female candidates for national office are receiving added
attention in the media when compared to their more numerous and
politically experienced male counterparts. "Total Number of
Candidates 148 Including 12 Women on the Third Day of Registration,"
Al-Rai Al-Aam, front page, May 28, is a typical example of the focus
on women. Controversy, however, has surrounded some of the female
candidates, making for good headlines.


5. One is Shaykha Fawziya Al-Sabah, a female member of the ruling
family whose candidature cracked open the question of whether
members of the ruling family can or should run for office. In the
end, the Shaykha lost when she bowed to a government legal decision
against her. "Royal Row over Elections," Kuwait Times, page one on
May 28, was a typical headline on the debate. The issue in general
received wide coverage in numerous other articles and opinion
columns before it all ended with the May 31 front-page headline in
Al-Rai Al-Aam, "Shaykha Fawziya Al-Sabah: I Reversed My Decision to
Run for Election." Other examples of the diverse press coverage on
the topic were: "Candidature by Royal Family Members a Flagrant
Constitutional Violation," Al-Qabas, page 18, May 29; and
"Al-Mubarak: No objection to Candidature by Royal Family members,"
Al-Seyassah, front page, May 30. Two male members of the Al-Sabah
family also considered running for office and, like Shaykha Fawziya,
changed their minds.


6. Equally if not more riveting has been coverage of death threats
made to several women candidates, one of whom withdrew from the race
out of fear (reftel). The print media covered these developments
with captions such as "Al-Reshaid: I received a threat letter," and
"Al-Bathali: Contacts to Dissuade Me from Candidature," Al-Seyassah,
front page, May 29; and "Woman Candidate Naziha Al-Bathali: I Was
Threatened but I Will Not Bow Down," Al-Rai Al-Aam, front page, May

30. An unnamed female candidate withdrew from the race due to the
threats made against her as reported in the May 29 Al-Seyassah
headline, "MOI Investigates Threat to Kill a Woman Candidate."


7. The print media is presenting coverage and opinions on a wide
range of issues surrounding the new role of women in the nation's
political life. Topics cover everything from the practical, such as
whether wives would vote as instructed by their husbands, to the
trivial, such as how upset some women were in having to reveal their
ages in order to register for the polls. Those for and against the

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women received largely equal play, though the more conservative
commentators made for attention-grabbing headlines such as, "Student
Union Appeals to Interior Minister to Separate Women's Polling
Stations from the Men's," Al-Seyassah, page 14, May 28. (Note: This
represents a bit of grandstanding by the student union. There
were separate polling places for the April municipal by-elections
and it is widely expected and desired that there be separate polling
sites for this election. End Note.) The more opinion-oriented
pieces on women and the vote saw headlines such as, "Al-Kandari:
Women's Participation in Elections Will Determine the Fate of
Candidates," Al-Qabas, page 19, May 28, and "Mohammed Zain: A
National Assembly without Women Is Not a National Assembly,"
Al-Seyassah, back page, May 31.


8. Kuwait public television aired a late evening program on May 28
dedicated to women's participation in elections. The broadcast
began with a documentary on Kuwaiti women's struggle for political
participation. The host then interviewed men and women on the
street and took telephone calls during the show. Most public
comments were optimistic about women in politics. Some, however,
saw a woman's place as being at home. Still other women commented
that it will be good to have a voice of their own in the National
Assembly.

Elections Kuwaiti-Style
--------------


9. As in previous elections, allegations of vote-buying are
widespread, though given the intense electoral competition this may
merely be political mud-slinging. Candidates are rumored to be
offering to pay as much as 1,000 Kuwaiti dinars, approximately
$3,500, and/or to provide other benefits such as jobs or grants in
order to secure votes. Speculation in the print media on this issue
is common as evidenced by the following headline: "Faisal Al-Mislim:
Votes Are Being Bought Publicly," Al-Rai Al-Aam, front page, May 31.
The government, candidates, and NGOs are also using the press to
shine a light on the issue of corruption and financial abuses.
Other print captions on the topic include "Al-Mulaifi Urges
Governmental Parties to Stop Bribing Voters," Al-Qabas, pg. 15, May
30; "Mubarak Al-Wa'lan Withdraws in Protest against Corruption,"
Al-Seyassah, front page, May 30; and "Sajid Al-Abdali: We Appeal to
Voters and Candidates to Support Nazaha's Campaign to Combat Vote
Buying," Al-Qabas, page 16, May 31.


10. A sample editorial on the topics of corruption and reform came
from Abdul Latif Al-Daij who wrote in the moderate Arabic-language
daily Al-Qabas under the title "Let Us Be One Reformist Bloc": "The
powers of corruption that stood against reform and caused the
dissolution of the National Assembly no doubt have hidden weapons in
their arsenal. They have surprises that will disappoint those who
dream of reform. They would not have dissolved the National
Assembly without being confident that they would be a majority in
the next one and therefore maintain the status quo of corruption by
preserving the 25 districts."

Public TV: Seen, but Not Heard
--------------


11. Glaringly absent from the topic of the day has been Kuwait's
public TV news channel KTV1. Regularly scheduled newscasts have
featured little reporting or analysis of elections since the Amir
dissolved the National Assembly on May 21. What news there is on
the topic has been limited to government announcements and the
readings of newspaper clippings on the subject. The popular morning
program "Good Morning Kuwait" on May 22 addressed that show's lack
of election coverage when the host replied to an email from a viewer
who had complained. The host stated on air that the show highlights
local topics and "stays away from politics." By contract, the
privately owned Al-Rai TV has featured talk shows with commentators
openly debating the various sides of key issues, including the role
of women. There are reports of the launch of two satellite channels
to cover elections issues. "Flash" will reportedly offer 24-hour
coverage of all of the election, and the "Parliament Channel,"
created in part by former MP Mohammed Al-Sager, will provide 6-7
hours per day of coverage of liberal candidates including Al-Sager,
former Deputy Speaker Meshari Al-Anjari, and Dr. Rola Dashti.

No "Equal Time"
--------------


12. The reason for the low profile of public TV has turned out to be
the work of the new Minister of Information Mohammed Al-Sanoussi.
The English-language daily Kuwait Times reported on May 29 that the
minister had instructed public TV and radio to not show or interview

KUWAIT 00002081 003 OF 003


any parliamentary candidates. Stressing that the ministry is a
neutral organization, Al-Sanoussi noted that Kuwait does not have
the same laws as in the United States where candidates are given
equal opportunities to appear on the public media. While the
minister went on to encourage coverage without taking sides, the
daily news broadcasts demonstrate how seriously KTV1 staff is taking
the dictate. On the following day, another English-language
newspaper, the Arab Times, reported that the Minister had discovered
that in previous elections some public TV programs made cash
"prizes" to candidates to support their campaigns. It appears that
the new Minister is taking pains to ensure that the public media is
not seen to be influencing the vote. The result is that the public
are turning to pan-Arab satellite channels such as Al-Arabiya and
Al-Jazeera or to the country's one private TV channel, Al-Rai, for
TV coverage of election events.


13. Comment: Kuwait's generally robust print media has not
disappointed its readers in covering the differing sides of key
election issues. The day Parliament was dissolved, the Amir met
with top editors-in-chief of all the major dailies. Word on the
street was that he had requested the press to keep controversy to a
minimum. However, an editor who was at the meeting told Emboff the
opposite, that the Amir welcomed the press to report freely on all
election-related topics. The truth is likely somewhere in between.
While the Amir supports a free press, it was unclear in the initial
days following the dissolution how members of Parliament and the
public would react. In an effort to ensure calm, the Amir likely
sought the assistance of the editors-in-chief in their role as
opinion makers.


14. While the print media is reporting various sides of many
election issues, the reports are overwhelmingly based on statements
made by candidates, politicians and other leaders. Virtually
non-existent is any type of independent investigative reporting on
issues such as corruption and vote-buying or impediments to women
candidates. End comment.

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s

Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
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LEBARON