FREEDOM AGENDA: LOCAL NGO RECRUITS VOLUNTEERS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 002298 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/APR, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM KU FREEDOM AGENDA SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: LOCAL NGO RECRUITS VOLUNTEERS TO MONITOR ELECTIONS REF: KUWAIT 2271 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Matthew Tueller for reason 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C/NF) In a June 14 meeting with Poloff, Nasser Al-Abdly, the Chairman of the Kuwait Society for Developing Democracy (www.demokwt.com),a local NGO, reported that his organization hoped to recruit 700 local volunteers to monitor Kuwait's June 29 parliamentary elections. He said KSDD had given training on election monitoring to the 250 people who had volunteered so far. Al-Abdly said KSDD was offering a 1000 KD ($3,460) reward to the volunteer who succeeded in exposing the most vote-buying activities. He added, however, that obtaining concrete evidence of electoral corruption was extremely difficult. KSDD is planning to put out weekly reports on its monitoring activities, which it will send to the Ministry of Interior and foreign embassies. It will also issue a final report after the elections are over. Two other organizations, the Kuwait Transparency Society and Nazaha ("Integrity"),also intended to monitor the elections, Al-Abdaly said. He complained, however, that they were relying solely on newspaper reports and word-of-mouth rather than real monitoring to assess the fairness of the elections. ¶2. (U/NF) According to a survey conducted by the local Arabic daily Al-Watan, 74% of respondents said they would not sell their votes; 26% said they would. Seventy-seven percent said they would not vote for a candidate who buys votes compared to 23% who said they would. Al-Watan has also established a hotline for people to report incidences of vote-buying. A number of people have already called in alleging that voters have been promised promotions, cash, airline tickets, and even a car in exchange for their votes. ¶3. (C/NF) Comment: The KSDD initiative is another example of the grassroots activism that characterizes this campaign period. Almost all of Kuwait is seized with the upcoming elections and there is a growing political awareness within a society that one year ago was largely apathetic and skeptical about its ability to influence the Government and elected officials. It is also noteworthy that Kuwaitis are calling for election monitoring. When a visiting State Department official commented in 2005 that election observers were one way to ensure transparency, Kuwaiti citizens reacted angrily, arguing that outside monitors were only needed in developing countries that did not have established democratic traditions. End comment. ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * TUELLER