KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - ELECTIONS RESULTS

UNCLAS KUWAIT 002599 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO KDEM PGOV KU MEDIA REACTION SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - ELECTIONS RESULTS Selected Headlines -------------- -- Al-Qabas front page "Women are the stars of the 2006 parliamentary elections"; "The government loses and the 'popular' and 'constitutional' advance"; "The liberals maintained their positions"; "Female candidates were not lucky"; "Independents lost 11 seats"; "A change in the nature of popular representation"; "Women chose the most qualified and the Islamists" -- Al-Rai Al-Aam front page "The day of will"; "What did they (women) get from their first experience"; "The Islamists increased their numbers to 18 of which 8 are from the constitutional movement"; "The Shiites' numbers decreased from 5 to 4"; "Washington: We welcome any elected parliament even if it is more conservative as the commitment to democracy is Kuwait is wide-spread and strong" -- Al-Watan front page "The 'constitutional' by a landslide"; "The government resigns tomorrow"; "The Prime Minster is charged with forming the new government Monday or Tuesday and the opening session is expected between the 12th and 17th of July"; "Observers expect a stronger Assembly than in the past and the government to lose the majority in it, and a short life span"; "Conflict Assembly and the results point to early collision and predictions of crises and confrontations between the two branches" -- Al-Seyassah front page "Women did not have good luck; voters elected a masculine assembly"; "Strong comeback for the 29 bloc, and a resonant fall for independents"; "Clear progress for the Muslim Brotherhood"; "Salafis are a minority in the Assembly"; "13 new MPs" -- Al-Anbaa front page "May God bless the women of this country--you did not win, but you did well"; "Coalitions led in the results"; "The biggest change was in Salmiya, new faces" Block Quotes -------------- -- Abdul Aziz Al-Twaijri penned in the progressive Arabic daily Al-Qabas under the title "To the New MP: 'Be Careful, Someone is Watching You'" (6/30): "While there were aspects of the elections that are upsetting, there were some that were pleasing. We have seen the surfacing of a segment of the youth such as 'youth against corruption' and other youth blocs in most electoral districts. These youth called for the election of the most qualified candidates and were able to surround the candidates and hold them accountable before he held others accountable. At least the youth made it clear to the new MPs that 'from now on, someone is watching you.'" -- Jassim Boodai Editor-in-Chief of moderate Arabic daily Al-Rai Al-Aam commented on the newspaper's front page under the title "A New Language" (6/30): "It ended as it started, through elections. However, it began and did not end nationally. We want a new language, a new page, a new path. The political movement embodied in the youth's involvement gave birth to popular monitoring and a national immunity system. Now, there is direct monitoring by the citizenry of the performance of both branches of government and immunity from the spread of inequity to the extent that unlawful activities affect those committing them." -- Adel Naif Al-Mezal stated in moderate Arabic daily Al-Watan under the title "Now it is your turn MP" (6/30): "Now, as you sit on your chair at the Nation Assembly, you should know that your chair is made of the flesh and blood of the thousands who voted for you and entrusted you with their interests, future, and the future of their children.... Now that you are an MP, where will you lead us? If you renege on your promises and slogans with which you pleased the hearts of your constituency, know that you will face the wrath of God and his subjects. You will be damned from all directions, history is written in letters of light by those who are not weak in the face of storms." ********************************************* * 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