KUWAIT: Prominent opposition figure and former MP Mussallam Al-Barrak has charged that the value of illegal deposits into the bank accounts of some former MPs and transfers made by the former prime minister amounted to KD 160 million. He also said that he has documents proving that more than KD 60 million was transferred into the private bank accounts held by the former prime minister in foreign countries through the foreign ministry and the Central Bank. The previous government had denied any wrongdoing and insisted that all the funds had been paid back to the state.
Barrak said the funds of both deposits and transfers are sufficient to send more than 5,000 Kuwaiti students for university studies in the United States for five years. At the opening of his election headquarters, Barrak showed pictures of luxurious cars he claimed were bought with public funds and vowed that he and other opposition figures will push for a judicial probe into the foreign transfers. The public prosecution has already interrogated 13 members of the previous parliament over allegations they received large sums of cash into their local bank accounts amid allegations of bribes or money laundering.
The two issues triggered large popular protests that eventually led to the resignation of the government, dissolution of the National Assembly and early polls. Observers believe that if the opposition wins the Feb 2 general elections and secures at least 30 seats, it is most likely that they will push for a major inquiry into the two issues, possibly by sending MPs to investigate the Central Bank records and ask the public prosecution to investigate the fund transfers.
Four more candidates pulled out of the race yesterday, reducing the number of candidates to 336 including 24 women with just one week left for candidates to withdraw from the elections. The administrative court also cancelled a decision by the Interior Ministry to disqualify two candidates from contesting the Assembly elections but confirmed the decision against a third. The ruling allowed candidates Mohammad Al-Haddad and Abdullah Saleh to run but upheld the decision against Emad Buhamra. More decisions will be issued today against four candidates including prominent Shiite businessman Abdulhameed Dashti.
In another development, election alliances started to shape in the mainly tribal fourth and fifth constituencies where tribes held eight tribal primaries which were boycotted by a number of leading candidates. In the fourth constituency, Khaled Al-Shulaimi and Fahad Al-Dhafiri, both from the Dhafiri tribe, announced they formed a alliance to fight the election together and were waiting for the third candidate from the tribe, former MP Ahmad Al-Shuraian to join them.
In the fifth constituency, businessman Nasser Al-Marri formed an alliance with candidates Omar Al-Rasheedi, Mahdi Al-Ajmi and Khaled Al-Hazaa. The new alliance will face three major alliances, each with four candidates. The first two are from the Ajman and Awazem tribes, the two largest tribes in the constituency, and the third alliance is from the tribes of Mutairi, Hawajer, Oteibi and Dossari. A number of prominent candidates like former MPs Khaled Al-Tahous and Falah Al-Sawwagh decided not to take part in their tribes' primary elections.
It is hard to predict who will "win" the general elections, particularly since formal political parties are banned, but one thing analysts agree on is that the new parliament is likely to be just as divided and obstreperous, if not more so, than the last. "It doesn't really matter who wins and who loses," said political commentator Ghanem Al-Najjar. "What's important is how we move on from there."
At stake is political stability and economic development in a key oil exporting country and strategic US ally that hosts several American military bases. Kuwait has long prided itself on having a fully elected parliament with legislative power and lively debate - unique in a region ruled by autocrats who tolerate little, if any, dissent. But without the resources of political parties to tap into, individual MPs must build voting blocs from scratch, while the government has a bloc built into the system because the 16-member Cabinet can vote on legislation and inevitably sides with the government.
The antagonism between parliament and the appointed government, which is dominated by members of the ruling Al-Sabah family, has among other things delayed vital development projects, turning Kuwait from a Gulf trailblazer into a laggard and stoking popular frustration. The previous government led by Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah resigned in November after anger over alleged corrupt practices by some MPs boiled over, as hundreds of men led by opposition lawmakers stormed the parliament in protest. HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, dissolved parliament soon after that, triggering early elections.
"Ultimately there is something at stake for Kuwait over the long term and that's the possibility of moving in the direction of a constitutional monarchy," said Nathan J Brown, professor of political science at George Washington University.
Ex-MPs who were at the forefront of the movement to bring down Sheikh Nasser could fare well on Feb 2, while former MPs who sided with the prime minister may lose ground, analysts say. Candidates considered pro-government also risk being tarnished by the corruption allegations against previous MPs. Opposition politicians say the deposits are bribes paid by Cabinet members to MPs for their support.
Some former MPs had called for a boycott in response to a decision by the interior ministry to disqualify some 14 candidates, including Islamist ex-opposition MP Faisal Al-Mislem. A court overturned the ban earlier this week, but the combative mood looks set to continue - a rally planned in protest at the original interior ministry decision went ahead anyway. "The opposition movement to the prime minister wasn't totally Islamist, but some of the most effective and outspoken leaders of it were Islamist and so I think they're feeling very politically self-confident," said Brown.
Because of the ban on political parties, elections in Kuwait, with its large array of religious and tribal allegiances, are often less about ideology than offering services to constituents, who tend to vote along sectarian or tribal lines. "We don't have an opposition, we have some MPs who are in scattered small groups here and there and they want to call themselves opposition. Opposition to what? There is no program, there is nothing," said Najjar. He and others like him say youth groups could be Kuwait's best bet at steering the country out of stagnation. "The sense of frustration has a lot of political force," Najjar said.
© Kuwait Times 2012
