As Kuwait parliamentary polls fast approach, candidates on the campaign trail have largely avoided presenting concrete solutions to serious economic challenges the country is facing, fearing they will lose voter support.

The polls will be held on November 26, as Kuwait, like other GCC states, grapples with the drop in oil prices.

“There are challenges resulting from the fall in price of oil and which leaves us with only two options, either to think outside the box to bring extra income, or to cut spending,” Mohammad Al Feili, public law professor and constitution expert, said.

However, candidates refrain from seriously contemplating such challenges and including them in their manifestos as they are fearful they would lose voters, and this keeps them away from real problems, the professor said.

“Unfortunately, several campaigns are seeking to generate support through arousing factional sentiments or sectarian emotions, or creating fears from the other,” he added

Al Feili said he was uneasy about the tendency of some candidates to advocate the issues of only specific segments of the Kuwaiti society.

“This is unsound in democratic practice as an MP represents the entire nation, and not specific groups,” he said.

For Mohammad Al Moqatee, professor of law at the Kuwait University and constitution expert, a candidate’s manifesto is an “ethical obligation” of promises that might not be possible to achieve in reality.

He said that several electoral platforms did not reflect the candidates’ aptitudes or capabilities as they were designed by advertising agencies or supporting media teams, which leaves the voters without the possibility to assess the true character and the readiness to implement the promises.

Al Moqatee said that most candidates were just ‘diagnosing problems’ with no precise or realistic solutions proposed.

Further genuine efforts and dedicated cooperation are needed to deal with the nation’s problems, away from private agendas and interests, he said.

Under Kuwait’s electoral system, the 10 candidates who secure the highest score in each of the five electoral districts are elected to the parliament.

Candidates running for the upcoming parliament have sharply criticised the failures of the outgoing parliament in their bid to win over votes.

Tribal leaders are exerting strong moral pressure on tribe members to shun their own choices and vote for the candidates selected by the tribal council.

The major topics addressed by all candidates include issues related to youth, education, health, the economic, political and social reforms, as well as the controversial DNA law.

Terrorism is also present in campaign discussions after it dramatically struck Kuwait in June 2015 when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque, killing 27 and injuring 227 in the blast.

Women candidates seem to be more focused on issues related to elevating the status of women in the country, equality with men in civil rights, the rights of divorced women, widows and women with special needs.

Some women have been calling for introducing a quota for women in the parliament as a way of dealing with the “male domination of the society.”

Women obtained the right to vote and run in elections in 2005, but their scores in the elections since their first participation in 2006 have been timid.

Slogans are increasingly playing up to the sense of patriotism, leading to the use of expressions such as the “name of the nation”, and “taking Kuwait back to the good old days.”

source : gulfnews