VZCZCXRO6285
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #2446/01 1721439
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 211439Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5340
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 002446 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2016 
TAGS: PGOV EIND KDEM KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: ELECTION COUNTDOWN: CORRUPTION EMERGES AS THE 
CENTRAL ISSUE IN THE JUNE 29 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 2298 
     ¶B. KUWAIT 2150 
     ¶C. KUWAIT 556 
 
Classified By: CDA Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (S/NF) Summary: Corruption has emerged as the central 
issue in the June 29 parliamentary elections.  Allegations of 
vote-buying are common and often politically-motivated, but 
there is no doubt that some candidates attempt to influence 
voters with bribes.  Nonetheless, the intensity of the 
campaigning and politicking in these elections does not 
suggest a system rife with corruption and Kuwaitis view their 
democratic process as legitimate.  There is also a 
potentially positive side to the corruption, which many blame 
on members of the ruling Al-Sabah family: it has caused a 
pro-reform backlash that threatens to bring down those who 
engage in efforts to manipulate voting behavior.  To an 
unprecedented degree, candidates from all political 
backgrounds have united against corruption and in support of 
reform.  They are backed by a groundswell of popular support 
and the intense lobbying activities of pro-reform youth 
organizations.  If this momentum continues, the next 
Parliament could be elected with a mandate to implement key 
political reforms.  As widespread rumors of vote-buying 
suggest, however, there are those who are working actively to 
prevent this from happening.  End summary. 
 
Will Vote for Cash 
------------------ 
 
¶2.  (S/NF) The June 29 parliamentary elections are being 
framed by many candidates as a battle between reform and 
corruption.  Accusations of vote-buying by those supporting 
and opposing reform are common.  While not new to Kuwaiti 
politics, Kuwaitis repeatedly tell us that vote-buying in 
these elections is worse than ever.  While much of this is 
politically motivated, there is certainly some degree of 
truth to these allegations.  Pro-reform candidates accuse 
"corrupt forces" in the Government -- a thinly veiled 
reference to the "corrupt trio" of Energy Minister Ahmed 
Al-Fahd Al-Sabah, Minister of State for Cabinet and National 
Assembly Affairs Mohammed Sharar, and Shaykh Mohammed 
Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, head of the Government Bodies 
Assessment Agency, the government agency charged with 
investigating cases of government corruption -- of being 
behind much of the vote-buying activities.  Some pro-reform 
candidates have even accused the "corrupt trio" by name, an 
unprecedented indication of the extent of popular frustration 
with widespread government corruption.  The issue of 
corruption has also received considerable media coverage 
(septel). 
 
¶3.  (U) One of the most outspoken proponents of reform, Ahmed 
Saadoun, blasted the Government during a recent campaign 
rally.  Saadoun, a member of Parliament since 1971 and a 
three-time Speaker of Parliament, raged, "We don't really 
have a government.  We have a country that is run by one or 
two people...The confrontation today is between the Kuwaiti 
people and corruption despots...In this situation there will 
be only one result: a victory for the people.  We (pro-reform 
MPs) and the Kuwaiti people will not leave the country a 
hostage in the hands of the corruption symbols."  Other 
candidates' criticism of the Government has been equally 
sharp. 
 
¶4.  (S/NF) Ahmed Deyain, an astute liberal political analyst, 
told Poloff June 19 that the level of corruption in these 
elections was unprecedented.  Vote-buying activities by some 
candidates, like former MP Jamal Al-Omar, were "flagrant," 
Deyain said, and driven by some high-level Government and 
ruling family members.  He specifically mentioned Energy 
Minister Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd Al-Sabah and his brother, the 
Director of Kuwait State Security, Shaykh Athbi Al-Fahd 
Al-Sabah, who he said "everyone knows are interfering in the 
elections." 
 
¶5.  (C/NF) The rapid rise in oil prices and the accompanying 
oil boom has fueled corruption in Kuwait.  In 2003, when the 
last elections were held, the price of Kuwaiti crude was 
roughly $27 per barrel, government revenue was $24.28 billion 
and expenditures were $19.33 billion.  Today, the price of 
Kuwaiti crude is $60.82 per barrel, and in 2005 government 
revenue was $47 billion and expenditures were $26 billion. 
(Note: These figures have not been adjusted for inflation. 
End note.)  Despite measures to appease the public such as 
the 2005 cancellation of outstanding electric bills and a 200 
KD ($700) rebate to citizens, Kuwaitis are increasingly 
beginning to ask where all this money is going.  Many cite 
 
KUWAIT 00002446  002 OF 003 
 
 
the current water shortage plaguing the country as an 
indication of endemic infrastructure problems and poor 
planning by the Government.  These factors play into the 
widespread impression that members of the Government and the 
ruling family are enriching themselves at the expense of the 
country. 
 
Khorafi's Pocket Change 
----------------------- 
 
¶6.  (S/NF) While concrete evidence of vote-buying is almost 
impossible to obtain, almost everyone is willing to share 
anecdotal evidence of uncertain validity.  One more 
trustworthy story involves Jassem Al-Khorafi, the Speaker of 
Parliament since 1999.  A high-ranking contact at the Central 
Bank told Poloff during a casual conversation that Al-Khorafi 
had withdrawn six million KD ($20.8 million) in the last 
couple of weeks for election expenses.  The contact believed 
with absolute certainty that this money would be used to buy 
votes.  He cited such evidence of widespread vote-buying as 
the reason he was not planning to vote. 
 
¶7.  (S/NF) Seemingly corroborating this information, an Amcit 
who works in Kuwait for a U.S.-based private equity firm told 
Poloff that one of his main clients, a nephew of Al-Khorafi, 
had asked him jokingly if he could accept cash for a 
multi-million dollar investment.  Al-Khorafi's nephew 
explained that he had "$20 million in Kuwaiti dinars" sitting 
in three suitcases in his office.  Although he did not 
explicitly say this money was from his uncle or that it would 
be used to buy votes, this was the implication the Amcit drew 
from the context of the conversation and his colleagues' 
comments to him later.  The Khorafi family company, run by 
Jassem's brother Nasser, has $57.2 billion in assets.  Nasser 
is ranked by Forbes magazine as the 29th richest person in 
the world with $12.4 billion.  Nasser's net worth increased 
$3.4 billion in 2005 alone.  Many have accused the Khorafis 
of supporting the Government in return for lucrative 
contracts. 
 
Corruption Elicts Pro-Reform Backlash 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C/NF) On the positive side, allegations of corruption 
and vote-buying have been generally met with public outrage. 
Pro-reform candidates and their supporters have strongly 
criticized the Government for failing to take action to 
prevent these activities and have vowed to continue waging 
their campaign against "corrupt elements."  In addition, 
several other local NGOs are also planning to independently 
monitor the elections (ref A), and in at least one district 
hundreds of people have signed a petition requesting the 
Ministry of Interior to stop vote-buying activities. 
According to a recent poll conducted by Al-Qabas, a 
pro-reform Arabic daily, 90.5% of the 1670 respondents said 
they did not believe the government was serious about 
preventing pre-election primaries and vote-buying activities. 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU/NF) Perhaps due to these pressures, the Ministry of 
Interior announced June 20 that it had approved the request 
of the Transparency and Reform Alliance, a coalition of 11 
local NGOs (ref C), to follow up on reported cases of 
vote-buying in the elections.  The Ministry has also agreed 
to "organize a rally to boost public awareness that 
vote-buying is a crime against society," the local Arabic 
daily Al-Seyassah reported.  In addition, following the 
example of the local Arabic daily Al-Watan, the Ministry 
established a hotline for people to call to report incidents 
of vote-buying. 
 
¶10.  (C/NF) Reports of electoral corruption are also 
providing further impetus and momentum to the grassroots, 
pro-reform youth movement that emerged in support of 
electoral reform (ref C).  Pro-reform activists are 
reportedly asking all candidates to sign a "Reform Charter," 
pledging to reject any Cabinet that includes Shaykh Ahmed 
Al-Fahd and Mohammed Sharar, and to make reducing the number 
of electoral constituencies their first legislative priority. 
 Some have even suggested the new Parliament could resign if 
and when a five constituency bill is passed, forcing new 
elections to be held under the new electoral system.  Several 
candidates Poloff spoke with, however, said that while they 
had heard of the charter, no one had approached them asking 
them to sign anything.  In tandem with these efforts, other 
youth organizations have reportedly asked candidates to sign 
a financial disclosure agreement promising to disclose their 
personal financial records if they are elected in an effort 
to increase transparency.  According to Al-Watan, five 
 
KUWAIT 00002446  003 OF 003 
 
 
candidates supported by the Islamic Constitutional Movement 
(ICM), the political arm of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, 
have already signed the agreement. 
 
********************************************* * 
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