Exciting speeches raise expectations among voters in Kuwait (Al Jazeera)

Kuwait -

 A large number of candidates for the Kuwaiti National Assembly raised the tone of attack on the government in their recent election seminars, amid interpretations that ranged from proving the strength of the candidate or the weakness of the candidates’ electoral programs, or to tickle the feelings and arouse the emotions of voters.

Next Thursday, the National Assembly elections will be held in Kuwait, amid great competition among 200 candidates, after the Court of Cassation closed the curtain on the electoral appeals yesterday, Sunday, with 41 candidates running in the elections in the first district, 39 in the second district, and 32 in the third district, while the candidates are running in the elections in the first district. The fourth district has 48 candidates, and the fifth district has 40 candidates.

The head of the Center for Development Studies, Nasser Al-Abdali, believes that most candidates’ attack on government performance is due to the absence of institutional political work and policy tools such as organizations and political parties, considering it a major reason for the chaos surrounding the electoral arena.

Part of voter participation in one of the seminars for candidates for the National Assembly (Al Jazeera)

Attack objectives

Al-Abdali continues, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that there are those who attack the entire government and those who attack a specific minister, believing that this will bring him closer to winning a seat in the elections. Political organizations and ideology are the framework within which political work is organized and make it closer to programs than the extravagances that we see in everyone. Candidate in the elections.

Al-Abdali adds that the near and long-term goals of this attack are to reach the National Assembly, even if that is at the expense of the foundations on which parliamentary and political life is built.

The same speaker believes that following this method of candidates is only to tickle feelings and try to obtain a seat in the National Assembly, and also because of the absence of programs, due to the absence of political organizations. “Therefore, the democratic experience in the country needs a bold step that allows the establishment of organizations that work clearly and specifically. He knows where the money and donations come from.”

Candidates are escalating their attacks on the government to win voters’ favor (Al Jazeera)

Election speech

In the same context, Abdullah Al-Ghanim, professor of political science at Kuwait University, agrees with Al-Abdali’s assessment of the reasons for the attack on the government, explaining that there are 3 forms of electoral discourse by candidates:

  • Pro-government is the weakest type of rhetoric to attract voters.

  • Moderate speech, this attracts a good group of people.

  • Offensive speech that includes some type of strong criticism of the government and usually attracts a larger number of voters.

Al-Ghanem added, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that what encourages the adoption of offensive rhetoric by candidates is that they go beyond presenting any clear electoral program, “and it is a kind of evasion of presenting electoral programmes, which makes it acceptable to its supporters,” pointing out that this type of Candidates do not have a real program, so they resort to this to gain the support of voters.

Al-Ghanim continued, “I asked some of the candidates questions during their visits to the offices, but many of them do not have a real vision, so they resort to this well-studied tactic to avoid presenting real programs. People are attracted to this type because of emotion, and because some believe that the one who delivers the strong offensive speech will be A strong representative in the National Assembly.”

Voters will choose 50 representatives out of 200 candidates (Al Jazeera)

Effective strategy

Political activist Hoda Al-Kiribani believes that attacking government performance can be an effective strategy for candidates, because it allows them to distinguish themselves from the current government and present themselves as an alternative to change and reform, and because it also plays on the feelings of voters who may feel frustrated with the current situation, which helps candidates to Build a base of support by responding to popular concerns.

Al-Karibani added, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that the selection of candidates for the strategy of attacking government performance may sometimes be driven by several factors, and this may be due to the absence of strong and specific electoral programs, which makes criticism a way to attract attention and obtain support.

The spokeswoman pointed out the need to look at the existing electoral framework that limits the ability of candidates to present and implement their electoral programs effectively, noting that the current electoral system, based on one vote, may be an obstacle to the implementation of comprehensive policies, which makes attacking government performance an alternative strategy. To emphasize the need for change and reform.

Political activist Hoda Al-Kreibani highlighted calls to reform the electoral system, to enable the implementation of more effective electoral programs that address the needs and aspirations of voters. Stressing that the strategy of attacking government performance can be understood not only as an attempt to tickle voters’ feelings, but as an expression of the urgent need to modernize the electoral framework and strengthen the democratic experience in Kuwait.

Source: Al Jazeera