Kuwait Times

Published Date: April 10, 2009
By Hussain Al-Qatari, Staff writer

"We from the tribes are not traitors. We just have more devotion to our tribe than to the land that we live on," said Ali Al-Sehali as he sat in his diwaniya in Firdous, fidgeting with the threads of a carpet.

His friend Naheth retorted, "We're not talking about us. It's the system that the tribes are used to. Our ancestors fought and traveled and lived beside other tribes. They were betrayed by tribes after having made truces with them. They feel insecure and still believe in the system of the tribe. We are different. We are young and educated and we have mingled with people who have different beliefs. But we can't fight the old ways. Most importantly, we can't fight the majority that feels insecure without being united," he said.

Tribesmen comprise more than 50 percent of voters in Kuwait with more than 170,000 voters distributed over Kuwait's five electoral districts. Although connected through familial bonds, as a political group they also represent an ideological faction - the Bedu or Bedouins. Sometimes Bedu are accused of being more loyal to their tribes than to Kuwait.

THE BEDU
Bedouins come from the same ancestry and they mostly marry from within the tribe itself. Tribes have a leader whose role, in Kuwait, is to handle the finances of the tribe, gather the tribe members on occasions and speaks on behalf of the tribe. There are more than a dozen major tribes in Kuwait, including the Al-Azmi tribe which has more than 32,000 voters, the Al-Mutairi tribe with more than 27,000 and the Al-Ajmi tribe with more than 21,000 voters, scattered throughout Kuwait's five constituencies.

Tribesmen, or Bedu, differ from hadar (urban dwellers) in many ways, primarily that they cling to tradition and their association with the tribe is a key economic, social and political determinant in their life. Bedouins' dialect differs slightly from Kuwaiti hadar, their clothes often differ and they even have their own flags or ways of wearing their headdress.

Kuwait Times spoke to two young gentlemen who were at first hesitant about speaking to the press, but agreed on the condition that their identity remained anonymous. The two young men said that they were awaiting the decision from elders of their tribes that would determine when the primaries would be held. "The tribes that are having primaries agreed to set separate dates after the elections date was set," said Naheth, who is in his late thirties, studied law at Kuwait University and wrote for several newspapers about various topics.

Naheth's tribe is a majority in the constituency where he lives. He has worked with MPs and candidates from his tribe several times before. He explained the dynamics of the debatable primaries to Kuwait Times.

Tribes in Kuwait vary in size and strength. Each tribe divides into different branches, and these branches vary in their number. When you ask someone about their tribe, they will tell you that they come from tribe so-and-so, branch so-and-so. Coming from the same branch makes you as close as immediate family to many tribesmen," he said.

ELECTIONS AND TRIBES
Before the elections start, tribesmen announce to the leaders and the elderly that they plan to run for elections. "Tribes see themselves as one unit. They don't see themselves as citizens first, no. To them, the first priority is the tribe, and then comes the rest. If someone from the same tribe is running for elections, you will automatically vote for him, not anyone else," explained Ali, who feels passionately about the abolition of the primaries and tribalism. He explained that tribalism and primaries do not actually work in favor of tribes people but actually work against them.

In 1996, a paragraph was added to Article 45 of Kuwait's Elections Law mandating that whoever becomes involved in primary elections, whether the basis of that is sectarian or tribal, is subject to a KD 2,000 fine and no more than three years imprisonment. In the 2008 elections, violence broke after security forces have seized tribesmen secretly holding primary elections. Streets were closed, security forces have used teargas and rubber bullets, people were injured and hundreds were referred to the court.

When representing people in the National Assembly, a tribe - or anyone for that matter - needs someone who is skilled and well-spoken. Do you know how unfair primaries are to such qualified people?"

He illustrated his point with an example. "Let's assume that a certain tribe has two candidates running for elections in the third constituency. One of them is a university professor, and the other one is a school guard who can barely read and write. The professor comes from a branch that has less population in the constituency, while the school guard has a larger number of relatives. Do you know who wins in this case? The illiterate school guard. Voters in primaries do not look at qualifications: they look at ancestry."

PRIMARIES
Debating the legality of primaries, Ali said that many tribal figures demand that they be equated with political parties and affiliations. "This is where ancestry and politics bleed into each other. Primary supporters see themselves as political entities and they behave as such, but they do not have an agenda. They want representatives in the parliament to help make their lives easier and stall the lives of the rest of Kuwaitis. Tribal members are not in the National Assembly for the nation. They are not there for Kuwait. They are there for their tribe alone."

Speaking about what seems to be a coalition between tribalism and conservatism, Naheth explained that there are many tribal candidates that are blessed with the support of two factions: their tribes and the grouping that they belong to which follows their line of thought.

"Mohammad Hayef, for example, is a Salafi who had the support of Kuwait's Salafis and the support of the Mutairi tribe," he noted. "A tribe usually chooses as many people as possible to run for elections. They give the voter many 'options' to vote for in order to increase the chance that the tribe will have a winning representative," added Naheth.

Shiites are regarded as a minority to many tribals. "They do not form any threat," said Naheth. "But some candidates choose to win their hearts and have them on their side so they can do them favors and expect them to return the favor by voting for them. Or sometimes, they promise them to help them build Shiite mosques in their constituencies where there aren't many Shiites mosques. This actually took place last year when I was working with a candidate from my tribe," he admitted.

In regard to liberals, tribesmen view them as Westernized and corrupt. "Yes, there are cases where people from tribes would vote for liberals, but these are individual decisions. They are not made on behalf of the tribe," explained Naheth.

Being from a minority tribe, believes Ali, is an advantage for him. "I don't face the pressure that the majority of tribes people face. I know people who are university educated but are still forced to vote for their tribe because they can't disobey the elders." He wished, however, that Kuwait becomes one constituency so that he would not feel useless in his own district.

"Right now, living here, I don't mean anything to anyone. The tribes have tens of thousands in our constituency, and aside from them, there are people that run for elections knowing well that they have no chance of winning. A Shiite running in the fourth constituency, for example, similar to what happened last year, can't beat the tribesmen.

Naheth believes that if the one constituency proposal is taken seriously, there may be a chance in altering the status quo and having different results. "Tribes will still feel the necessity of having primaries; someone has to represent us in the parliament. But the others will have the opportunity to vote for someone that represents them and we won't have any all-tribal constituencies anymore." He added: "I am a tribesman, and I respect my tribe. This is my ancestry and I cannot deny it. But I have no respect for anyone, whether tribal or not, who chooses something over Kuwait.

This is the first of a three-part series examining the political factions in Kuwait.