Candidates' gatherings witness a large presence of supporters (Al Jazeera)

KUWAIT

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With the Kuwaiti National Assembly elections approaching on April 4, candidates running for these elections are intensifying their efforts by exploiting the Ramadan atmosphere to market themselves and present their electoral programs to voters by holding Ramadan ghabqas, which is a popular social heritage in Kuwait.

The people of Kuwait have been accustomed to holding ghabqas on the nights of the holy month of Ramadan since ancient times, as it is considered a type of social communication through visits between the spectrum of society and between family and relatives.

Ghabqa is one of the ancient customs that characterize the nights of the Holy Month among the Kuwaiti people. It was a feast held after Tarawih prayers for family and neighbors who went to congratulate them on the occasion of the Holy Month. Its table includes many types of simple and light foods, in addition to some popular sweets, while its drinks vary from coffee. Arabic, tea, juices, etc.

A candidate receives his guests during a Ramadan ghabqa to explain his electoral program (Al Jazeera)

Electoral headquarters

With the coincidence of the holy month of Ramadan and the National Assembly elections, many candidates resorted to announcing the holding of ghabqas in their electoral headquarters, and through them they tried to influence the opinions of voters, win them over, and deliver the messages they wanted. It is a great opportunity that can be exploited by presenting their electoral programs to a large segment of the public. Supportive, neutral, or undecided in the vote.

With the Kuwaiti government choosing the date for the elections, and the limited time between the issuance of the decree calling for voters to elect members of the National Assembly on March 3, and the date for holding the elections on April 4, candidates have resorted to exploiting this social celebration to present their programs through their election seminars. Which they announced.

Political analyst Faisal Al-Sharifi believes that the attendance of Ramadan ghabqat by voters carries with it two basic purposes: the first: social courtesy, and the second: support for the candidate, especially since all the invitees know in advance that there will be a seminar for the candidate on the sidelines of this celebration.

Candidates' seminars during the Ghabga allow them to present their electoral programs (Al Jazeera)

It won't be enough

Al-Sharifi added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that the candidate may have a chance to prove his popular acceptance through the large attendance of citizens at the Ghabga, but he also realizes that it alone will not be enough, so the traditional method of gaining voters’ trust still depends on social visits to their offices and private councils, as well as Candidates resort to using social media to deliver their messages, explain their electoral program, and make promises to achieve what is desired.

Bashayer Al-Sanea, professor of communication and digital media at Kuwait University, believes that the timing of the elections and its coincidence with the holy month of Ramadan has made “ghabqas” and social events a golden opportunity for candidates to have direct social contact with voters and try to show their warm reception to them, in the hope and motivation of voters to vote for them through... An attempt to link and consolidate images of social cohesion in the mind of the voter with the candidate, away from the image of the politician who aspires to reach council seats.

Bashayer Al-Sanea added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that many voters have made up their minds, but there remains a group of those who were disappointed in some of the candidates during the previous elections, and they are looking for change for the better, so the candidate’s opportunity to win them over remains possible, especially with the intelligence of the candidate who may resort to titillation. Voters' feelings are socialized by hospitality, promises of sociability, and the impression of personal knowledge.

Bashayer Al-Sanea believes that Al-Ghabgat is a golden opportunity for candidates (Al-Jazeera)

Bashayer explains that social networking sites in these campaigns play a major role in the electoral propaganda of the candidates, as they allow easy and quick access to information, and providing these seminars to voters by following the candidates’ accounts and seeing the history and updates of their political positions.

It is noteworthy that most of the candidates for membership in the Kuwaiti National Assembly have announced the holding of seminars in their electoral headquarters by organizing ghabqas on the nights of the holy month of Ramadan, which requires candidates and voters to choose the appropriate times in a way that is consistent with people’s obligations to times of worship, working hours, and carrying out social duties, while adhering to customs. And the traditions followed.

Source: Al Jazeera