VZCZCXRO1756
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHKU #1176/01 0941405
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 041405Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3825
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001176 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KDEM KWMN KU WOMEN POLITICAL RIGHTS
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: KUWAITI WOMEN "JUBILANT" AS THEY 
VOTE FOR THE FIRST TIME 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 1077 
     ¶B. KUWAIT 995 
     ¶C. KUWAIT 760 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary and comment: For the first time since being 
given full political rights in May 2005, Kuwaiti women 
exercised their right to vote on April 4 in a Municipal 
Council by-election.  Female campaign workers and voters were 
"jubilant" about exercising their political rights.  "Today 
we became a real democracy," one female campaigner said.  "We 
have been reborn."  Jenan Bushehri, one of two female 
candidates in the election, said, "This is a proud day for 
Kuwaiti women."  She was confident of winning the election, 
but said that regardless of the outcome, it had been a "great 
experience."  Polling stations were blanketed by campaign 
billboards and supporters handing out campaign materials. 
There were separate entrances and voting rooms for male and 
female voters.  One former IVP participant, Munthir Al-Habib, 
told Poloffs his organization, the Kuwait Society for 
Developing Democracy, was unofficially monitoring the 
elections to ensure free and fair voting procedures. 
Overall, procedures appeared transparent and voters seemed 
free of untoward pressure.  Official results are expected to 
be announced late the evening of April 4. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) After the prevalent role played by Parliament 
during the January 2006 succession controversy, Kuwait's 
democracy agenda received another boost as women excitedly 
exercised their political rights for the first time in the 
Municipal Council by-election.  Many predict this election 
will be indicative of how the women's vote will affect the 
2007 parliamentary elections.  While a female candidate is 
not expected to win this election, women's participation has 
broken many taboos and firmly established them as an 
important new constituency.  End summary and comment. 
 
Celebratory Mood as Women Vote for First Time 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Poloffs visited all three polling stations on April 
4 where a celebratory air prevailed as female campaign 
workers and voters expressed their pride and excitement about 
being able to exercise their political rights for the first 
time since Parliament approved women's suffrage legislation 
in May 2005.  Poloffs observed elderly women arriving in 
wheelchairs to vote for the first time in their lives. 
"Today we became a real democracy.  We have been reborn," one 
female campaign workere told Poloffs.  Another said, "Kuwaiti 
democracy no longer distinguishes between men and women.  We 
are very proud to have acquired our political rights and 
today we are exercising them."  The women predicted female 
turnout would be high, since women had fought so hard for 
their political rights.  Voting in this election was the 
first step in achieving greater political and social rights, 
they said. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Jenan Bushehri, one of two female candidates 
running for the vacant MC seat, told Poloffs, "This is a 
proud day for Kuwaiti women.  We are happy to be voting 
side-by-side with men."  She felt "100 percent" confident she 
would win the election, but said, in any case, the campaign 
had been a "great experience" and she had learned a 
tremendous amount.  Two female Shi'a voters told Poloffs they 
voted for Bushehri, explaining that if a man was elected, he 
would "get married one, two, three times and perfume himself, 
so let's see what a woman can do." 
 
Traditional Views Still in Evidence 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  While the vote was a major milestone for women's 
rights in Kuwait, vestiges of Kuwait's gender inequality were 
still in evidence.  A woman voting for the Al-Awazim bedouin 
clan candidate said that "men are above women."  (Note: 
Tribal elements of Kuwaiti society tend to be more socially 
conservative.  End note.) One of Bushehri's campaign themes 
had been to encourage women to make their own decisions, 
rather than listening to their male relatives.  Poloffs 
witnessed several men instructing their female relatives for 
whom to vote as they sent them into the polls, though it is 
impossible to know if this was a widespread phenomenon. 
 
Election Focuses on Issues of Identity, not Policy 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶6.  (U) The eight candidates still in the running for the 
Municipal Council by-election to fill the seat of Abdullah 
Al-Muhailbi, who was appointed Minister of Municipality 
Affairs in early February, recently participated in a 
 
KUWAIT 00001176  002 OF 002 
 
 
televised debate, which one contact claimed was the first in 
Kuwait's history.  Most voters queried by Poloffs at polling 
stations cited tribal, religious (i.e. Sunni-Shi'a) or family 
connections as their primary consideration when voting.  A 
male voter confirmed this, and then, in response to Poloff's 
question as to the issues at stake, said, "there are no 
politics, like in the National Assembly elections."  A female 
voter who had voted for tribal candidate Yousef Al-Suwailih 
put it succinctly: "we prefer the one we know to the one we 
don't."  Al-Suwailih, representing the Sunni Al-Awazim tribe, 
is favored to win the election.  Of the other seven 
candidates, six are Shi'a, including two women, and one is 
Sunni.  There are a total of 28,188 registered voters in the 
MC's fifth constituency, of which 16,388 are women and 11,800 
are men.  According to the English-daily Arab Times, 9,000 
are Shi'a and 19,000 are Sunni, including 8,000 from the 
Al-Awazim tribe; one Shi'a candidate said the numbers were 
actually 14,000 Shi'a and 12,600 Sunni, including 5,600 
Al-Awazim (reftel). 
 
Election Procedures Seemingly Transparent 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Polling stations had separate entrances and voting 
rooms for male and female voters.  A male judge or public 
prosecutor appointed by the Ministry of Justice verified 
voters' nationality documents and oversaw voting.  An 
official from the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and 
representatives from each of the candidates - all women in 
the female section - also sat in the separate voting rooms to 
monitor election procedures.  The MOI had also established a 
hotline for voters to call with questions.  Campaign 
billboards blanketed the areas outside polling stations and 
campaign tents offered voters refreshments and shade; some 
candidates had separate tents for men and women.  At the 
largest polling station, voters had to navigate large numbers 
of campaign workers passing out flyers to enter the polling 
station. 
 
¶8.  (U)  On the whole, though, voting procedures seemed very 
transparent and voters did not appear subject to any untoward 
pressure.  Munthir Al-Habib, a former IVP participant now 
volunteering with the Kuwait Society for Developing Democracy 
(KSDD), told Poloffs KSDD was unofficially monitoring the 
election to ensure it was conducted in a free and fair 
manner.  Turnout in the morning appeared low, though an MOI 
official explained it would increase significantly after 
working hours; polls remain open until 8pm.  The official 
results are expected to be announced by the MOI by 11pm local 
time Kuwait. 
 
GOK Reaction 
------------ 
 
¶9.  (U) Commenting on the elections, Prime Minister Shaykh 
Nasser Mohammed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah told the press that the 
participation of women in the elections boosted Kuwait,s 
international standing and was a source of pride.  We say to 
our Kuwaiti sisters, "Forward, and take your place with your 
Kuwaiti brother," he said in a statement quoted by Western 
press. 
 
The Municipal Council 
--------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  The Municipal Council is responsible for zoning, 
planning, and land allocation in Kuwait.  The Council 
therefore has tremendous power.  It has been the subject of 
widespread accusations of corruption.  In 2005 a law was 
passed to try to address these accusations.  The new law 
gives the Kuwait Municipality, formerly just the 
administrative wing of the Council, veto power on projects, 
in the hope that this will check the passage of projects that 
Council Members put through in order to appease constituents, 
rather than for the good of Kuwait. 
 
********************************************* * 
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