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PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #2081/01 1560735
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 050735Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4911
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHWSMRC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA// PRIORITY

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 
LONDON FOR TSOU 
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 
 
KUWAIT 00002081  002 OF 003 
 
 
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. 
 
********************************************* * 
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/ 
********************************************* * 
 
LEBARON