at the beginning of kuwait’s democratic march, democracy was vivid in three kuwaiti societies in the regions of the capital, which was ‘enclosed’ by a wall all that extended from sea to the sea consisting of four neighborhoods – the sharq, the qibla, the mirqab; and the central district or the heart of the capital which comprised of the markets, government department and the palace of the ruler.
outside the wall were the city of jahra and its surroundings to the north, and the city of fahaheel and its environs to the south.
following the discovery of oil accompanied by the revenues, kuwait saw the increase in population and a decision was taken to demolish all houses in the capital, with the exception of only a few diwans or old homes along the sea-coast which means those living in these houses were to be moved to the residential areas outside the wall.
this was the beginning of the emergence of new areas and the people living in these areas were a mix of regions of the old capital, with diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds and historical origins.
with increased polarization, intense competition for an electoral seat, and the ethnic, sectarian, and tribal difference within the societies – urban and bedouin – with or without government support, some exploited the situation, albeit, with clear governmental assistance, with a family, tribe, and sectarian sorting process, almost agreed upon, so the son of a specific minority residential area sold the house to a resident who formed the majority of that area and moved to a remote area where he felt his vote had more value consistent with his ethnic or religious orientations, and this was the beginning of voluntary ethnic cleansing.
thus, this phenomenon gave birth to electoral blocs and entire areas were saturated with one tribe. with the increase in polarization, and as the voluntary screening process stopped, the forgers were left with no choice but to tamper with the electoral lists.
in february, the government opens the door for voter registration said to be ‘fair’ and ‘error-free’. the registration will see the names of the deceased erased and the same goes for those who are convicted by courts.
this gives an opportunity for those who have reached the legal voting age to jot down their names and strike off the names of military personnel and the deceased.
this exercise also allows identifying those who have moved to another area complete with proof such as a residential address that will prevent corrupt activities and will not allow the unscrupulous elements to tamper with the will of the voters which has been happening over the past half a century.
the ministry of interior and the public authority of civil information have played their role. it is not easy to transfer the names of thousands of voters from one electoral region to another without ‘acceptance’ or government knowledge.
the illegal transfer of votes has increased at an alarming rate in recent years and is intended only to influence the election results, especially when the relevant authorities deliberately delay the publication of the voter lists complete with the name and residential address of each voter.
sensing the danger of such violations and the need to cleanse the democratic practice from the negativities that affect the integrity and transparency of the elections, we urge everyone to hurry up and register their names keeping in mind the need to do away with all cases of tampering and fake transfer of votes.
more importantly, the attribution of electoral lists and the entire electoral process to judicial bodies, or to an independent national body with guarantees of impartiality, for continuous supervision of the electoral system, otherwise, the fraud will continue.