KUWAIT CITY, 13 June 2004 — Political reform in Kuwait got off to a difficult start yesterday as sharp divisions among lawmakers prevented Parliament from voting on a bill to amend the electoral law.
The bill, described as the first step toward political reform in the emirate, calls to cut the number of constituencies from the current 25 to 10 in a bid to clamp down on alleged irregularities in parliamentary elections.
Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi was forced to adjourn the unruly session for one week amid strong exchanges between MPs who back the change and those opposing it.
“Political reforms appear to be very difficult to achieve, but not impossible. Those who caused the session to stop are enemies of democracy,” liberal MP Ali Al-Rashed said after the session.
The 50-member Parliament is divided into almost equal halves of opposition liberal and Islamist MPs supporting the change against tribal and independent lawmakers strongly opposing it. Supporters say the existing law promotes tribal, sectarian and family influences and encourages vote-buying and other corruption practices.
“Kuwait’s interests are at stake. Today is a historical day ... and we need to take a historical decision. This is the gate to comprehensive political reforms,” Faisal Al-Muslim, an Islamist MP, told the house.
Opponents however insist the amendment is discriminatory because it does not guarantee a fair distribution of voters, and would eventually lead to undesirable social divisions. “We should not discriminate between Kuwaitis. The amendment strengthens racism, tribalism and sectarianism in Kuwait ... any change should ensure justice and equality,” MP Ali Al-Deqbasi said.
The proposed bill does not stipulate the same number of voters in each electoral district. The government, which remained neutral during the session, had submitted two proposals, both cutting the number to 10 districts but with a different distribution. The government’s support is crucial to any amendment.
Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah vowed in a previous session that the government would forge ahead with reforms, but added that it wanted to ensure justice and equality for the people of Kuwait.
Parliamentary panels are also reviewing bills to give women full political rights, servicemen the vote, and lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.
If the bills are passed, the voter base in the country, which has an indigenous population of just 900,000, is expected to increase three-fold. Eligible voters in Kuwait number just 136,000.
