VZCZCXRO0240
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #2521 1770917
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 260917Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5427
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 002521 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: ELECTION COUNTDOWN: STRENGTHENED ANTI-FRAUD 
MEASURES; EQUAL POLLING SITES FOR MEN AND WOMEN 
 
REF: KUWAIT 2446 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: CDA Matt Tueller for reason 1.4 (d) 
 
¶1.  (C/NF) During a June 24 meeting, the Director of the 
Ministry of Interior's National Assembly Elections 
Department, Ali Murad, showed Poloff the voting stands and 
transparent ballot boxes the GOK has ordered to prevent 
electoral fraud in the June 29 parliamentary elections.  The 
voting stands are chest-high and resemble a lectern, allowing 
election monitors to observe voters' movements but not their 
actual votes.   According to Murad, this will prevent two of 
the most common ways voters verify they have voted for a 
particular candidate: taking a picture of the ballot using a 
camera phone, and replacing the ballot with one already 
filled out by the candidate (and then returning the blank 
ballot to the candidate for the next person).  Another common 
practice is for a candidate to ask voters to swear on the 
Quran before paying them for their vote, the irony of which 
is lost on most Kuwaitis.  In previous elections, voters 
voted behind a curtain, making these practices much easier. 
The Ministry also special ordered transparent ballot boxes to 
replace the wooden ones used in previous elections.  Murad 
said the new boxes would, quite literally, increase 
transparency in the elections and ensure that ballots were 
not tampered with once placed in the ballot box. 
 
¶2.  (SBU/NF) In addition to these measures, the MOI has 
established a hotline for voters to report cases of 
vote-buying and has authorized the Kuwait Elections 
Transparency Society (KETS), a division of the Transparency 
and Reform Alliance, a local NGO, to follow up on cases of 
electoral fraud (reftel).  Already, four cases have been 
referred to the public prosecutor.  KETS Chairman Anwar 
Al-Rushaid praised the three women and one man who offered to 
testify in the vote-buying cases as "heroes," adding that 
this was "unprecedented in the history of Kuwait's 
parliamentary elections," Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported 
June 18.  He also welcomed the government's anti-corruption 
efforts.  Meanwhile, 49 candidates, many of them Islamists, 
have signed an agreement pledging to disclose their financial 
records if elected to Parliament.  Two members of Parliament 
affiliated with the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood first took 
this unprecedented step in January 2006; no other MPs 
followed suit. 
 
Election Mechanics 
------------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU/NF) After a couple of last minute withdrawals, there 
are 252 candidates, including 27 women, remaining in the 
race.  Ninety-one polling stations -- 45 for men and 46 for 
women -- have been established in Kuwait's 25 electoral 
constituencies.  Polling stations open at 8:00 AM and close 
at 8:00 PM on Thursday, June 29.  Each polling station is 
presided over by a judge appointed by the Higher Judiciary 
Council.  (Note: A complete list of the polling stations is 
available in Arabic at the following website: 
http://eservices1.moi.gov.kw/elections/mainme nu.nsf.  End 
note.)  Ministry of Interior personnel are responsible for 
providing security at the election sites.  Election 
committees will begin counting votes immediately after 
polling stations close, a process observed by representatives 
from each candidate in the district.  Any of the 
representatives can contest the count and request a recount. 
In the event of a tie, the judge picks a method of "casting 
lots" (e.g. putting both names into a hat) to decide the 
winner.  The results are expected to be announced early 
Friday morning. 
 
********************************************* * 
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