KUWAIT: Woman parliamentary candidate for the third constituency Dr Assil Al-Awadhi called yesterday on political coalitions to include female nominees in their electoral lists to secure seats for the soft gender.
Al-Awadhi, said such a commitment would enhance the women chances of securing seats in the National Assembly in the upcoming elections, due on May 17, indicating that leaders of electoral blocs and coalitions enjoy significant experience in the mobilization to win the hearts and minds of the voters.
She indicated that the women did not play a significant role in the 2006 parliamentary elections due to several reasons, namely the limited experience and the holding of the polls on the basis of 25 constituencies. None of the women nominees won seats due to these reasons, and other factors as well.
Al-Awadhi has a record of service in charities, women associations, in addition to her work in the information committee of the Kuwaiti Embassy in Bahrain during the 1990-1991 Iraqi occupation of the country.
The woman nominee expressed her belief that only a single woman should be nominated in each constituency, and indicated that winning five seats in the assembly would be quite satisfactory for the women at present. The elections will be held on May 17 on the basis of five constituencies for the first time. Several women have registered nomination for the contest.
The Ministry of Interior has launched an intensive surveillance to detect cases of vote-buying. It said the Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid is personally directing and supervising the activities. The crusade against vote-buying will cover all districts particularly the second, third and fifth as officials speculate vote-buying is usually rife in those districts. Detectives assigned for the operation are instructed to coordinate directly with the Ministry of Interior in receiving and transmitting all relevant information.
The crusade has reportedly already started producing the desired results. Two cases of vote-buying in the third and fifth districts have been detected recently and the persons involved in the deal have been apprehended. Meanwhile, senior officials Brig Ali Al-Yousef, Maj Generals Ghazi Al-Omar and Abdulhamed Al-Awadhi called for an investigation in another case.
The investigation was prompted after detectives arrested a man, canvassing for a candidate, on charges of vote-buying. The interior minister attended the investigation meeting too. Detectives also raided a women's election headquarters in the third district and arrested some female workers there in connection with vote-buying, reported Al-Watan. Unnamed officials also speculate that some vacant houses that were sold recently to certain parties might be used in vote-buying activities.
- Kuwait Times
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