‘Results leave govt baffled’
‘Islamist politicians role crucial’
“THE RESULTS of the recent parliamentary elections were surprising to the observers who did not expect the big change both in numbers and quality,” columnist Dr Hamed Al-Hmoud wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“I take pleasure to quote what was written by Dr Saleh Al-Sa’adi in the Al-Qabas newspaper on Nov 28, 2016. He said, ‘the government planned a surprise but it was the government that was taken by surprise’.
“The Government lost a great part of the supporters. It did not expect that amount of awareness from the citizens and miscalculated the readiness of the opposition.
“The young winners such as Abdulwahab Al-Babtain, Nasser Al-Dosari and Omar Al-Tabtabaei and the return to parliamentary life of Rakan Al-Nisf and Riyadh Al-Adasani have given rise to optimism.
“Moreover the law which gives one-man one-vote had a positive effect on the young winners from the sects and tribes. It has become a familiar sight to see a Shiite winning most of the seats in the Sunni majority areas and vice-versa. Thanks to the one-man one-vote. Congratulations to those tribes for reaching the Abdullah Al-Salem Hall.
“Democracy according to the philosopher John Stuart Mill does not mean the tyranny of the majority. He added democracy is not fulfilled unless the minority is represented. If we analyze the victory of the contestants to the National Assembly we sum it in three reasons — faith, family and tribe.
“It is true that some candidates won without the influence of the above mentioned reasons such as Safa’a Al-Hashem who is a distinguished charismatic personality and has a great ability to woo the voters.
“It is also that the mentioned reasons interacted with other reasons like in the case of Mohammad Al-Mutairi when the power of faith and family interacted with the great role of the mother that was the force behind his victory to woo women voters.
“However the factors of the faith, family and tribe are still the main factors that determined the winners in general. The three factors cannot do separately. They worked when the factors overlapped. This happened in the cases of the MPs Jama’an Al-Harbash and Muhammad Hayef.
“When we talk about the role of faith and sect, it is the Shiite and the Muslim Brotherhood who are much capable of doing that. That is because they are organized and not organized as blocs that use the religion as a (compass) that directs their political situations. The absence of Dr Hassan Jowhar wasted an opportunity to get the voices of the Sunni voters.
“I had hoped for Dr Ghadeer Atheri to get a better result. However this is considered a very good result for a liberal Shiite candidate. Nevertheless I classify myself as against the liberals who had shunned the Islamic candidates. Moreover, I am going to support the trustworthy and chaste Islamist candidate rather than support a liberal who is untrustworthy and insincere.
“In a meeting organized by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters under the title ‘The future of freedom in the Arab World’ I clarified my situation as much as I could.
“I said what can you expect from a child who is born in a house where he sees about twenty copies of the Holy Quran, studies at school in Arabic, one third of the curriculum is relevant to religion and he sees his parents visiting Makkah at each opportunity? How can you expect him to become Mozart or Emmanuel when he grows up?
“Actually this child is expected to become a member of the (ICM) or the Salafi current. Nevertheless, the members of such blocs are different.
“For instance, the MPs Osama Al-Shaheen and Mohammad Al-Dallal are highly qualified. To conclude, belonging to Islamic bodies is not relevant to backwardness and ignorance as the Liberalists claim. We live in a period where the Islamist politicians play an important role.”
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“If the issue of reform is limited to the birth certificates and not the proper performance and clear cut points of view, then I cannot say congratulations. I then invite you to enjoy reforms on the gambling table where the losers are more than the winners,” columnist Ibrahim Al-Mulaifi wrote for Al-Jaridah daily.
“The disappointment has eaten up the main measurement tools such as logic and memory in addition to the numbers that the politicians own. Such disappointment led many of us to hold on to a weak straw, rejoicing in the hope.
“However the hope was put in the wrong place. In the height of excitement and enthusiasm they forgot that the laws of the game are modified on the size of the Executive Authority.
“They ignore answering the questions related to their political identity. Those who refuse to answer are just pretenders waiting for the moment of swearing-in to be the first signatories of the Islamization of state laws, but it is clear to friends and family and neighbors the election time promises have all but evaporated in thin air.
“Where is the taste of politics and the political collective work under the domination of the system (one-man one-vote)? It is true that in the past we did not live in ideal democratic environment, but at least we had clear features political blocs that work together through powerful alliances that were strong enough to support the candidates who are capable of performing through respected and effective blocs whether in legislating laws or observing the governmental performance.
“The social evaluation of the one-man, one-vote was not taken into consideration, either by the government or government supporters. Today the negative impact of the one-man, one-vote on the relations between the brothers in the same family does not deserve any caring. The entire focus is on the new establishment regardless to what extent it is coherent.
“With all respect due to wonderful young winners in the elections and my great respect to the opinion of Dr Ahmad Al-Khateeb published by the Al-Jaridah daily on Dec 1, 2016, I call everybody not to count the chickens before they are hatched.
“Such stations shall continue as long as the Parliament is living under the guillotine as the two previous Parliaments. Then we will find out those who hurry to defend the government and those who will be victims of racism and sectarianism and those who will stand still in front of the strong challenges.
“To conclude, we stress that the winners won due to friendship and neighborhood considerations. They did not win due to creating a comprehensive political project to bring about change and the course of reforms.”
“Results of the just-ended parliamentary elections reflect the opinions of Kuwaiti voters in all social sectors,” columnist Dr Wael Al-Hassawi wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“Outcome of the democratic process showed the level of dissatisfaction among citizens over the Parliament of 2013. It also revealed their desire for change through selection of powerful and active MPs seeking reform amid optimism that ‘one-man, one-vote’ system could be fruitful if used properly.
“It was on a whole new experience that helped tear down the strong tribal blocs — even in the regions they frequently dominated. Moreover, many Salafists lost through the large number of Salafi candidates that competed for limited number of seats. We must learn from this scenario and try to avoid competition, especially when condition is not suitable for that purpose—just as Islam teaches us.
“We do not have to give up. It’s always good to continue positively the cooperation and coordination without the feeling of depression. People still trust the Salafists and we do not have to adopt wrong conclusions, because Salafists lost the race due to lack of planning and coordination and not because the people have given up on them.
“Anyway, the Parliament of 2016 is full of hope and we expect it’ll confront corruption. I also urge the MPs to unify their efforts and set long-term plans to avoid inciting crises upon formation of a new government. We need upright and powerful ministers that will be ready to face questioning as regards their performance.”
“In short, the results of the recent parliamentary elections deserve a punch by the citizens towards the 2013 Parliament,” Dr Hassan Abdullah Jowhar wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“The tsunami of change came in the following manner — the rate of change in the First Constituency was 50 percent, in Second Constituency 40 percent, in Third Constituency 70 percent, in Fourth Constituency 80 percent and in Fifth Constituency 60 percent. This means that 34 new MPs joined the Parliament, which makes up a great majority.
“Some have been blaming the continuous criticism directed at the 2013 Parliament but the results have proven that we were neither attacking the dissolved Parliament over personal interests nor targeting individual MPs. Since it is not honorable to hit a corpse, there is no need to continue with that Parliament.
“The new parliamentary formation makes us feel optimistic, as they represent various components of the Kuwaiti society in fair percentages. This balance was not seen when the Kuwaiti Parliament was established in 1963. We hope this is reflected in the parliamentary performance. We hope the MPs behave like true representatives of all Kuwaiti people instead of just a particular sect or tribe. Thank God for the results, as they have revealed the withdrawal of sectarian speech! The results show the failure of pro-government MPs and the victory of those who have taken it upon themselves to defend citizens and do their best for the nation’s interests. The rate of participation was 70 percent, which is the highest since the 1992 elections following the liberation of Kuwait. The youth, both voters and candidates, are the heroes of the elections this time.
The message was strong and direct; the government has to understand it.”
“There was a huge gap between the reality of events and relevant requirements with reference to the structure of the previous government, and it’s imperative, logical and appropriate to form the new government only after a sober and careful study of the parliamentary composition to ensure political stability while serving the good of society,” columnist Nasser Khamees Al Mutairi wrote for Al Nahar daily.
“It is a matter of great importance to consider the results of the just-ended parliamentary in the formation of a new government, because it will yield positive returns on political stability and coexistence between the executive and the legislative authorities to avoid clashes. Developmental goals in all aspects can be achieved easily in unison and harmony with each authority performing its role adequately.
“We are now used to forming governments without making an allowance for the parliamentary composition, and the step has always incited crisis and clashes between the legislative and the executive authorities. This interprets the phenomena of shortlived Parliaments.”
“Everyone agrees that the healthcare services are receding even with the availability of sufficient funds. The main problem facing Ministry of Health is the wrong choice of some doctors and non-availability of diagnosis,” Khalid Al-Araqah wrote for AlAnba daily.
“We have realized that the medical situation is nothing to write home about. Appointments at the outpatient clinics extend beyond several months. The same situation is seen at the physiotherapy treatment clinics. Regarding appointments for surgeries, they exceed one year due to lackluster attitude of officials which leads to higher number of patients beyond the service. Therefore, as the elections have ended and the results are out, I am determined now to discuss the medical situation and present it on the round table for the new minister and lawmakers.
“The overseas medical treatment is always the bait used by officials to retain their jobs in the ministry, because they use it to pacify lawmakers who also contribute to the low level of patient diagnosis. They were all agitating for reform and had demanded improved healthcare services, which lacked clear vision, during the electioneering campaigns. The cost of overseas medical treatments last year alone was over KD 700 million.”
“The democratic activities for electing new members of the National Assembly ended with 60 percent change. The blocs that had earlier boycotted the ‘one-man, one-vote’ system have now become a part of the political activities in a wonderful pragmatic scenario,” Abdulmohsen Yousef wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“In politics, positions change within the blink of an eye. Therefore, the idea of election boycott has become a thing of the past and the principal actors in that regard are now part of the ‘one-man, one-vote’ elections result! Some people won the initial risk concerning the return of the election boycott personalities back to the political arena.
“The courts delivered judgments in several election-related litigations, which prepared everybody for the political scenario. Those who are regarded as the opposition by the populace are now in the Parliament. They have enough numbers to exercise the strongest monitoring constitutional tools — grilling — which requires only one vote and vote of no-confidence that requires only ten votes.”