300 protesters in Bahrain demand investigation into alleged conspiracy to rig elections
The Associated Press
About 300 people demonstrated in this capital city on Friday, demanding that an investigation be launched into allegations of a conspiracy to rig the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Deputy Parliament Speaker Abdul Hadi Marhoon said he participated in the peaceful rally that lasted about an hour “in defense of rights enshrined by the Bahraini constitution.” He also called for “greater freedom of expression.”
Bahrain’s opposition leaders have asked for an investigation into a report distributed last September by a former government consultant, Salah al-Bandar, that made allegations against top government officials, tying them to plans to alter the Nov. 25 elections and deprive Shiites of their rights.
300 protesters in Bahrain demand investigation into alleged conspiracy to rig elections
The Associated Press
About 300 people demonstrated in this capital city on Friday, demanding that an investigation be launched into allegations of a conspiracy to rig the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Deputy Parliament Speaker Abdul Hadi Marhoon said he participated in the peaceful rally that lasted about an hour “in defense of rights enshrined by the Bahraini constitution.” He also called for “greater freedom of expression.”
Bahrain’s opposition leaders have asked for an investigation into a report distributed last September by a former government consultant, Salah al-Bandar, that made allegations against top government officials, tying them to plans to alter the Nov. 25 elections and deprive Shiites of their rights.
Bahrain, a tiny Persian Gulf kingdom which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has a population of 725,000 and is about 60 percent Shiite. But the government is dominated by a Sunni ruling family.
Al-Bandar, a Sunni Muslim who worked for the country’s Cabinet affairs minister and the government’s statistics agency, was charged with sedition and expelled from the country. In his report, he alleged that a senior government official was masterminding a plot to use accelerated naturalization and electronic voting, among other tactics, to rig the election in which some 210 candidates, including 16 women, are vying for seats in the 40-member assembly.
The report, which locals refer to as Bandargate, has made surprising waves in a country that has had only one parliamentary election in the past 30 years.
Saturday’s demonstrators had wanted to march through the streets of Manama, but the interior ministry refused. Later Saturday, the ministry agreed to allow the protesters, surrounded by anti-riot police, to gather in a district called Ras Rumman.
The rally came one day after authorities arrested two people “for perpetrating the crime of publishing fliers calling for an unpermitted demonstration and spreading false news that can put the national security in danger,” the leading Bahrain Al-Wasat daily, citing Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Mohammed bin Daina, reported on Friday.
The two are believed to be connected to the Haq movement, which broke away from the main Shiite opposition group, Al-Wefaq Society. Hassan Mushaima’a, the leader of the Haq movement, has called for the release of the two detainees.
Marhoon, who is running in the elections later this month, also called on the government to investigate the report.
“The Bandargate case should not pass as if it did not occur, it should be dealt with peacefully and constitutionally,” he said.
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