Factbox: Kuwait's electoral process

[Joe Higashi]

Factbox: Kuwait's electoral process

Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:05am EST

(Reuters) - Kuwait is holding parliamentary elections on Saturday, its fifth poll since June 2006. Here is a look at the process:

* Kuwait has one of the most open democratic systems in the Gulf. Its National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma) has legislative powers and can summon ministers for questioning. The emir however has the final say in state affairs and can veto laws and dissolve parliament. The head of state, from the 250-year-old Al-Sabah dynasty, also appoints the prime minister who, in turn, appoints the 15-member cabinet.

* Voters will choose the 50 members of the National Assembly who are supposed to serve four-year terms. In practice, recent parliaments have rarely lasted that long - a series of them have been dissolved during a long-running power struggle between the appointed cabinet and elected MPs.

* There were 279 candidates registered by a deadline last week - a number which could change if some disqualified applicants are allowed to run. Most have not stood before. Established opposition politicians are boycotting the election in protest over changes to the voting rules.

* Thousands have staged regular demonstrations since late October against the emir's emergency decree reducing the number of votes allowed per citizen from four to one. The opposition says the new rules are an attempt to skew the election in favor of pro-government candidates. They say the four-vote system helped candidates form political allegiances during campaigns by recommending supporters cast their additional ballots for allies. The emir says the old system had flaws and the changes are for the sake of Kuwait's security and stability.

* All Kuwaitis, male and female, can vote once they reach the age of 21. Nearly 423,000 people are eligible to vote out of a population of nearly 1.2 million nationals. The number appears low as Kuwait has a relatively young population. Around two thirds of Kuwait's inhabitants are foreign nationals. Voting runs from 0800-2000 local time (0500-1700 GMT) on December 1. Kuwait is divided up into five electoral districts, each of them with 10 seats up for grabs. No minimum turnout is required.

(Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

 

[Joe Higashi]

Factbox: Kuwait's opposition

Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:04am EST

(Reuters) - Kuwait's diverse opposition is largely boycotting a December 1 parliamentary election in protest over changes to voting rules and may need to resort to more public protests to demand reforms.

Kuwait does not allow political parties, so people form loose alliances based on policy, family and religious ties. Below are details of some of the main figures and groups.

OPPOSITION BLOC

Around 34 members of the 50-seat parliament formed the group, also known as the "majority bloc", after the last elections in February. That gave them a greater share of seats in the National Assembly than pro-government or neutral MPs. But that parliament was dissolved in June after a court ruling.

Bloc members, who include Islamists, populist MPs and liberals, are not standing on December 1, saying recent changes to voting rules would put them at a disadvantage.

POLITICAL GROUPS

The opposition politicians divide into several smaller sub groups. Most of them are part of the opposition bloc but members and group structures change frequently.

- Islamists

Islamic Constitutional Movement (Hadas) - founded in the early 1990s and affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. It backed a campaign to make Islamic law, or sharia, the source of legislation and has campaigned against corruption. The group had around five representatives in the 2012 parliament.

- Salafis

There are several Salafi groups which draw influence from Saudi Arabia's austere version of Islam. The main one, the Islamic Salafi Alliance, opposes votes for women, who were granted suffrage in 2005. It has a smaller influence in political life than the more moderate Islamists.

- Liberals and populists

Popular Action Bloc - a group headed by former parliament speaker Ahmed al-Saadoun, who backs the election boycott but has warned against protest marches. The group has campaigned on economic issues and some members have drawn tribal support.

Kuwait Democratic Forum and the National Democratic Alliance - liberal groups pushing political and economic reform. Together they had six MPs in the 2012 parliament. They did not always agree on the policies of the opposition bloc.

INDIVIDUALS

Several prominent former lawmakers allied to the opposition bloc are thought to play a significant role in shaping its tactics. As there are no political parties, individual figures play an important role.

- Musallam al-Barrak, a former populist MP who describes himself as an independent, has been able to draw on tribal support. He is under investigation for comments he made about Kuwait's ruler in October which were deemed insulting by authorities. Some of his slogans have been adopted by protesters in recent rallies.

- Ahmed al-Saadoun, who was speaker of the parliament elected in February 2012, can also rally tribal support. His son was one of several arrested after taking part in a protest in October.

- Mohammad al-Dallal, was one of several former Islamist MPs who pushed for legislation to regulate Twitter after a case involving a man convicted of insulting the Prophet Mohammad on the site. He has also called for anti-corruption rules.

- Jamaan al-Herbesh, an academic and former Islamist MP who has been outspoken in his criticism of the ruling authorities.

- Faisal al-Muslem, an academic and former Islamist MP, has also been a vocal government critic and was interrogated about comments deemed to undermine the emir.

- Waleed al-Tabtabie, a Salafi former MP, who is one of Kuwait's most prominent users of Twitter with more than a quarter of a million followers on the site.

YOUTH GROUPS

Analysts say youth groups have started to play a leading role in street protests, organizing them using social media, planning routes and police-dodging tactics.

The membership and names change regularly and people are sometimes members of more than one group. Some are closer to the opposition bloc while others are thought to be more sympathetic towards Kuwait's status quo.

Larger groups can splinter into sub groups or combine to form temporary "movements" focused on a single issue.

One of the main groups is the National Front for the Protection of the Constitution, which bases its policy on readings of the state document and possible reforms.

The Progressive Current, a pro-democracy group, looks at political rights. A group called "Nahj" calls for a full democracy in Kuwait. "Kuwait Boycott" has helped to spearhead protests against changes to voting

(Compiled by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

 

[Joe Higashi]

Factbox: Kuwaiti ministers and officials

Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:04am EST

(Reuters) - Kuwait holds parliamentary elections on December 1, the second time the Gulf Arab state goes to the polls in less than a year.

Below are details of some of the current government ministers and officials. Analysts expect most will keep their posts after the vote - the emir appoints the prime minister who, in turn, appoints the 15-member cabinet. Top portfolios are generally held by members of the ruling family.

PRIME MINISTER

Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah, a former defense minister, became prime minister in late 2011 after his predecessor was forced to resign following pressure in parliament. The 70-year-old, who has spent his career in Kuwait, has kept a low profile during his short time in the role. Opposition lawmakers questioned him in parliament in March over the government's handling of an investigation into corruption allegations linked to the collapse of the previous cabinet, but he managed to dodge a no-confidence motion.

INTERIOR MINISTER

Appointed in February 2011 at the height of regional unrest, Sheikh Ahmad al-Hamoud al-Sabah took a firm line on protest marches in October this year over the changes to voting rules. Demonstrations were broken up with teargas and baton charges. He is a senior ruling family member and also holds the post of deputy prime minister.

FOREIGN MINISTER

Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah, who is also a deputy prime minister, was appointed in October last year. The well-traveled 59-year-old has been Kuwait's ambassador to Saudi Arabia and its representative at the United Nations.

FINANCE MINISTER

Nayef al-Hajraf, a former education minister, took over in May 2012 after his long-serving predecessor quit. One of Kuwait's younger ministers, he oversaw plans to increase the proportion of revenues Kuwait puts into a rainy day fund to benefit future generations when the oil runs out. This was seen by economists as a sensible long-term move in a country where investment has stalled.

OIL MINISTER

Hani Hussein, who is also the acting minister of Islamic Affairs, is a former chief executive at Kuwait's Petroleum Corporation and was seen as an experienced pair of hands to run the oil ministry. His influence is limited however as oil policy is set by a supreme oil council.

INFORMATION MINISTER

Sheikh Mohammad al-Mubarak al-Sabah is one of the more prominent members in the younger generation of the ruling family. His ministry was involved in drawing up legislation to regulate social media after cases of blasphemy and sectarianism.

CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR

Mohammad al-Hashel was promoted to governor in March, marking the first change at the helm of the central bank in more than two decades. Since then the 38-year-old has introduced new loan rules for banks aimed at boosting capital markets. He called on the government to raise investment spending and oversaw a 50-basis-point rate cut in October, the first rate change in more than two and a half years.

(Compiled by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Andrew Heavens)