KUWAITI WOMEN IN ELECTIONS: NO WINS...YET

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000614 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM KWMN SOCI KU SUBJECT: KUWAITI WOMEN IN ELECTIONS: NO WINS...YET REF: KUWAIT 565 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Although no women were elected in Kuwait's recent parliamentary contests, women made a strong showing and improved their performance compared to the 2006 elections. Participation among women voters increased from the previous election and many observers believe Kuwait is on track to see its first female MP in the next election. The shortened campaign season due to snap-elections disadvantaged many of the inexperienced and unknown candidates while the new five constituency system created particular obstacles for women candidates. Women activists are learning valuable lessons from their experiences, and have begun to take practical steps to better organize their efforts and broaden their outreach. END SUMMARY. -------------- INCREASED PARTICIPATION AND PROGRESS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Despite not winning any seats in the May 17 parliamentary elections, Kuwaiti women had a strong showing and most Kuwaitis - male and female - agree that women are making progress as viable candidates for future elections. As in 2006, the first time women were permitted to run, there were 27 female candidates vying for the 50 seats in Parliament. The two female candidates with the most votes, Dr. Aseel Al-Awadi and Dr. Rola Dashti, came in eleventh and twelfth in their district respectively, coming very close to winning seats (Note: The top ten vote-getters in each district are elected) . Despite running under the new five constituency system, which many said would make it more difficult for a woman to win (Ref A),women came closer to winning than in the last election. Female turnout in this election also increased to 50 percent from 44 percent in ¶2006. With this pattern of increased participation and improved performance, many observers predict that Kuwait will see its first female MP in the next election cycle. -------------- HURDLES TO OVERCOME -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Largely inexperienced and relatively unknown women candidates were disadvantaged by shortened campaign periods (60 days) in both 2006 and 2008, the result of snap elections in each case. The 2008 election season was cut even shorter due to the death of the former Amir Shaykh Saad Al Sabah three days prior to election day (reftel). The largely inexperienced women candidates were frustrated with the condensed elections season and the inability to properly plan and carry out an election campaign. ¶4. (SBU) In addition, the new electoral system reducing 25 constituencies down to five, likely impacted women's chances more than their male counterparts. Traditional campaigns in Kuwait involve "election tents" in which candidates hold rallies, give speeches and meet with supporters. Candidates also visit diwaniyas (traditional men's gatherings held in the evenings) in their area to gain support and votes. Due to the tremendous increase in the number of constituents per district, traditional methods of campaigning made reaching a broader range of people more difficult. Previously a candidate would have to visit anywhere from 200 - 300 diwaniyas in his/her area; under the new system, a district could contain anywhere from 2000 - 3000 diwaniyas. Because diwaniyas are traditionally strictly male gatherings, women candidates were at a disadvantage in their ability to reach their constituents in this manner. ¶5. (SBU) Lack of unity, organization and strategy among the women candidates also negatively impacted their chances of success. There was little coordinated effort between any of the women candidates either in 2006 or 2008. However, three prominent women's activists launched the first women's political association on March 6, 2008, just 13 days before the dissolution of Parliament. The intention of Nouriya Al-Saddani, Khawla Al-Ateeqi and Dr. Khadija Al-Mahmeed was to unify women's political efforts and increase their participation in decision-making and leadership roles in the country. When the group, called Tanami ("growth" in Arabic), originally launched in March, the plan was to simply launch the idea of a women's political association and take the rest of the year to consult with various civil society and women's groups to formulate the best way forward and not officially launch the group until the end of 2008. However, with the dissolution of Parliament their plans were accelerated and Tanami held numerous seminars and training courses (largely with the assistance of NDI) for some of the candidates. Post-election, many of the female candidates criticized KUWAIT 00000614 002 OF 002 Tanami for supporting only certain candidates, including some men, and not all 27 women equally. -------------- WOMEN TO WATCH -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Dr. Aseel Al-Awadi, the female candidate who received the most votes (5,173),was a newcomer to this election and politics in general. She was the only female candidate to run on an organized ticket with two male candidates. Although she was virtually unknown on the political scene, many observers credit her success to her ability to appeal to broad range of voters. Dr. Rola Dashti, the female candidate who won the most votes in the 2006 election, placed second (4,464 votes). According to Dashti, 48 hours prior to election day, she was the victim of a "smear campaign" in which she suspects one of her liberal/independent opponents of surfacing a photograph of her with Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah taken in 2000 following Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon and claiming it was recent and that Hizbollah had financed her current campaign. She is investigating the incident and said she intends to take legal action against the instigators of the negative campaigning. Dashti suggested voting numbers would show collusion among the Islamists/Salafists in her District ¶3. Dr. Salwa Al-Jassar, also a newcomer, came in third highest for female candidates (2,215 votes) and Dr. Fatima Abdally, a candidate in 2006, came in fourth (2,184 votes). -------------- LOOKING AHEAD: THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM? -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Many Kuwaiti observers, particularly women activists themselves, believe that a woman will be elected in the next parliamentary election. If the current Parliament serves its full four-year term, women will have the opportunity to better plan and prepare their campaigns. Two-time candidate Dr. Rola Dashti told Poloff that there has been a palpable change in ideas and attitudes regarding women running for office in the two years since the last election. She said that many more women are supportive of the idea and that it will simply take a little more time for this change to translate into actual votes. Given time to better organize, groups like Tanami could play an important role in unifying women's political efforts and creating a strategy for success. Although no woman was elected in this round, Kuwaiti women will likely continue to be outspoken and active in politics in non-elected capacities as they wait for their next opportunity to run for office. ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * JONES