The professor was talking to the Arab Times Tuesday sharing his views on the current political issues, including the elections, in Kuwait.
When asked to clarify further, Dr Qannoor named Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood as having an influence on the protestors in Kuwait.
He hailed the latest amendments in the election laws in Kuwait of bringing down the number of votes per person to one from four. “One person one vote” is the most sensible democratic norm as it gives fewer options for people looking to gain personal benefits using the value of the ballot.
Dr Qannoor wondered why the opposition is kicking up a big row over this amendment, while in the past too election laws have been amended, including the not too trivial amendments like reducing the number of constituencies from 25 to 5. “However, this time round when HH the Amir decreed a cut in the number of votes per person from 4 to 1, there are violent protests taken out.”
Asked why there is opposition to the new one-person-one-vote system, Dr Qannoor said the opposition has much to lose from the new system. “Four votes system was a sure-fire way for the opposition to return to the Parliament in their former numbers, because it enabled vote buying.”
The professor felt that the new voting system will make votes less of a saleable commodity. The new system will deliver the hardest blow to tribal constituencies, especially the 4th and 5th constituencies. Sectarian faults are most evident in the first constituency, which can also be hit by the one-vote system.
Religion, in Dr Qannoor’s opinion, was being used for political purposes in Kuwait. This should end, he added. The Parliamentary system is being run on lobbies and personal favors. He cited the example of individuals using their connections with MPs to gain permissions for government-funded foreign medical treatment, which is misused by many, draining the nation’s wealth.
However, Dr Qannoor said the most worrying aspect in Kuwait is the consistent poor performance of the government. “In more than 20 years, we have not had a new hospital. The state of traffic is getting from bad to worse, with roads overcrowded and fatalities in road accidents climbing to the point of becoming the highest in the world.”
When asked if the long-term conflict between the legislative and the executive is the reason for the lack of progress, Dr Qannoor blamed the apathy of the government for all the ills. “Nobody is stopping the government from launching developmental projects. Yet, it has shown to be too weak-willed to push ahead with reforms and development. We can see this attitude at any government office. Nobody even bothers to read a petition, leave alone acting on it to rectify problems.”
The lack of political parties in Kuwait was also raised as an issue by the political analyst. We only have political groups, and most people are ignorant of what a political party is or how it functions. We can’t think of legitimatizing political parties in Kuwait before it’s fully defined in the context of Kuwait.
Dr Qannoor emphasized the need to separate religion from politics, which he felt is to be blamed for many of the problems in the political spectrum of Kuwait. Politics must be free from influence of commercial and religious lobbies. As an example of religious lobbies influencing legislations, he cited the practice of airing entire religious sermons on the loudspeakers of some mosques, despite an edict from the Ministry of Awqaf against this custom. “We can understand the call to prayer, which of course is necessary to remind the faithful of prayer timings, and lasts for a very short time. But why should the public be forced to listen to lengthy prayers that are relevant only for the faithful in the mosques?”
