VZCZCXRO9818
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHKU #0656/01 0581223
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 271223Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3190
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0324

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000656 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARPI, NEA/PI, AND G/TIP; LONDON FOR TSOU, 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA:  PLANNING MINISTER SAYS ELECTORAL 
 
REFORM AND LABOR AT THE TOP OF NEW CABINET'S AGENDA 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 636: PARLIAMENT REVISES DATE FOR 
        REDISTRICTING DEBATE 
     ¶B. KUWAIT 601: NEW PRIME MINISTER PROMISES REFORMS 
     ¶C. KUWAIT 495: FREE SEAT ON MUNICIPAL COUNCIL 
     ¶D. KUWAIT 85: MOST SAY WOMEN WON'T WIN 
     ¶E. 05 KUWAIT 5183: AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF WOMEN 
        VOTERS 
     ¶F. 05 KUWAIT 4742: INTERIOR AND PLANNING MINISTERS 
        CONFIRM GOK TIP COMMITMENT 
     ¶G. 05 KUWAIT 4740: PLANNING MINISTER ON ELECTORAL 
        REFORM 
     ¶H. 05 KUWAIT 4460: GOK FORMS MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE 
        ON REDISTRICTING 
     ¶I. 05 KUWAIT 4325: NDI CAMPAIGN SCHOOL 
     ¶J. 05 KUWAIT 2931: PDAS CHENEY IN KUWAIT 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  During a February 27 call to congratulate 
the Minister on her re-appointment as Minister of Planning 
and Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs, 
Dr. Ma'souma Al-Mubarak was generally optimistic about the 
new Government and echoed the Prime Minister's recent 
comments about reforms that would soon occur.  She spoke at 
length on reduction of the number of electoral districts and 
was pleased that Parliament agreed to discuss the measure in 
April instead of June.  Although she said there was no 
prefect formula for reshaping the districts, based on either 
demographics or population, reducing their numbers from 25 to 
10, would promote transparency, and larger districts would 
create a more level playing field for female candidates.  She 
complimented GOK efforts, such as the automatic registration 
of women voters and encouragement of political participation 
of women, but expressed disappointment with the work of 
women's groups and NGOs.  She said Kuwaiti women needed to be 
encouraged to run for office and requested more training 
programs such as the September 2005 MEPI-funded NDI campaign 
school.  She cited passage of a new labor law as another GOK 
priority and said that efforts to combat trafficking in 
persons and foreign worker exploitation needed to target 
source as well as destination countries.  End summary. 
 
Getting Serious about Electoral District Reform 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2.  (C)  During the Ambassador's February 27 courtesy call on 
recently re-appointed Minister of Planning and Minister of 
State for Administrative Development Affairs Dr. Ma'souma 
Al-Mubarak, the Minister spoke at length on electoral 
redistricting and political reform.  Referring to the 
February 21 decision by the National Assembly to address 
redistricting in April instead of June, she said the earlier 
date allows ample time for discussion, increasing the 
possibility that a law could be passed before the 2007 
elections (ref A).  If discussed in June as originally 
planned, Parliament would not be able to conclude debate 
before the summer recess, meaning there would be no serious 
discussion until October.  She said the GOK was working on a 
"unified position" on redistricting and while there was 
"almost unanimous" agreement on reducing the number of 
constituencies from 25 to 10, there was serious disagreement 
on the future size and shape of the reduced constituencies. 
Dr. Ma'souma explained that if districts were configured 
based on population, tribal groups would benefit while some 
small districts currently held by liberals could change 
hands.  Other configurations to be considered could take into 
account the demographics of the area, creating districts 
whose majorities were Shi'a, for example.  She bemoaned that 
there was no ideal formula and either option would generate 
criticism. 
 
Redistricting Good for the GOK's Image and Good for Women 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶3.  (C)  Nevertheless, she believed that electoral district 
reform was essential for two overriding reasons.  First, GOK 
critics accused the Government of being anti-reform.  Taking 
on the district issue would erase this charge.  She commented 
that in discussions on the GOK commitment to reform, she had 
personally come under attack by independent MPs for her 
efforts to tighten the controls on voter registration. 
Previously, voters could move, on paper, to districts where 
they thought their votes could make a difference.  She 
pressed for regulations requiring the registration of an 
address along with the voter's name to limit abuse of the 
system.  Independent MPs, who had supported reform, now 
opposed it because they believed it would adversely affect 
them.  Second, redistricting will even the playing field for 
 
KUWAIT 00000656  002 OF 002 
 
 
women.  With the current 25 districts, Dr. Ma'souma said 
there was no chance for a woman to win (ref D).  Tribal 
districts accounted for 16 of the existing districts and 
competition was fierce within the remaining nine where 
loyalties are divided among religious affiliation, family 
ties, and business relationships.  She asserted that larger 
districts favored women. 
 
Kuwaiti Women Need Help to Run for Office and Win 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶4.  (C)  Further commenting on women's political 
participation, Dr. Ma'souma noted her displeasure with the 
effectiveness of Kuwait's women's groups and NGOs.  She said 
that legislation allowing the automatic registration of women 
voters (Ref E), which she pushed, took a lot of pressure off 
of the women's groups, freeing them to focus on encouraging 
women to vote.  She referred to the development of a project 
with UNDP to raise awareness about the importance of voting, 
but expressed regret at the slow pace of overall progress in 
raising political consciousness among women.  Commenting on 
the lone female candidate for the Municipal Council seat now 
open after the incumbent was appointed to the Parliament (ref 
C), she said her campaign was a test case for people to 
demonstrate their support for women candidates.  She was not 
optimistic about Janan Ramadan Bushihri's chances for being 
elected to the Council, explaining that with seven candidates 
running for the seat, her support base would be eroded. 
Recalling her June 2005 meeting with NEA PDAS Cheney, Dr. 
Ma'souma said Kuwaiti women needed to be encouraged to run 
for office and that MEPI-funded training programs had been 
very successful and should be repeated (refs I and J). 
 
Labor Law Needed to Lessen Worker Exploitation 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Commenting on other legislative priorities, Dr. 
Ma'souma said passage of a new labor law was on the GOK 
priority list for the legislative session.  She reported 
progress on measures to protect Kuwait's 450,000 domestic 
workers, but said the real challenge was implementation and 
the need to change the mentality of Kuwaiti employers and 
address shady practices in the sending countries.  She 
admitted that Kuwait needed a new law, but said that equal 
attention must be paid to the source countries.  She cited 
the Bangladeshi Prime Minister's decision to ban the travel 
of women under 35 to Gulf states as an effective tool in 
combating human trafficking and worker exploitation. 
 
Slow, but Steady Progress on the Five-Year Plan 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Reviewing progress on the Ministry's five-year 
plan for the Government, she said the Cabinet would soon 
discuss it so that it could be reviewed by the Supreme 
Planning Board before going to Parliament.  The 
budget-oriented plan sets economic, social, educational, 
health, and development goals for 2006-2011.  The Minister 
hoped it would have Parliament's approval before the start of 
the new fiscal year on April 1. 
 
********************************************* * 
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