Kuwait: Delicate Balancing Act for Ruling Family as Islamist-dominated Opposition Wins Elections

The recent crisis over electoral reform has led, once more, to the dissolution of Parliament, which ironically had been strengthened during the fight over succession, last January, when Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah succeeded Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah as Emir of Kuwait.

The strong showing of Islamic and liberal opposition at the June 29 parliamentary election is a setback for the ruling family, but much will depend on how the government handles the situation.

* The opposition won a two-thirds majority in the June 29 polls. However, Islamists and liberals have little in common, save their support for electoral reform. They appear to be unlikely bedfellows of a Kuwaiti Orange-type coalition, and their unity should not be taken lightly.
* Characterizing the loose coalition that won the elections as proreform might be misleading, since most of its members fought against women's right to vote, have so far succeeded in blocking the opening of the oil sector, and are opposed to the privatization bill.
* Outgoing Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah was reappointed. However, the sidelining of the two ministers who had attracted the brunt of the criticisms during the campaign is a gesture of appeasement toward the new majority.
* Project Kuwait is likely to be the indirect victim of the conflict over electoral reform. The hope of international oil company involvement in the four northern fields is fading, all the more because a strong advocate of Project Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the outgoing energy minister, is one of the two prominent Cabinet members who were not reappointed.

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