Bahrainis to elect their second post-reform parliament
(AFP)
24 November 2006
MANAMA – Bahrainis cast their ballots on Saturday to elect a new parliament, with the mostly-Shia opposition vying to seize a sizable representation after boycotting the last polls.
Polling was due to open at 0800 am (0500 GMT) on Saturday, 24 hours after the close of campaigning.
Some 295,000 eligible voters will choose between 207 candidates, including 17 women, to elect 39 MPs in a similar number of constituencies.
One seat in the 40-strong chamber has already gone to Latifa Al Qouhoud — a female candidate standing unopposed in her constituency — making her the first woman MP in the kingdom’s history.
Bahrainis to elect their second post-reform parliament
(AFP)
24 November 2006
MANAMA – Bahrainis cast their ballots on Saturday to elect a new parliament, with the mostly-Shia opposition vying to seize a sizable representation after boycotting the last polls.
Polling was due to open at 0800 am (0500 GMT) on Saturday, 24 hours after the close of campaigning.
Some 295,000 eligible voters will choose between 207 candidates, including 17 women, to elect 39 MPs in a similar number of constituencies.
One seat in the 40-strong chamber has already gone to Latifa Al Qouhoud — a female candidate standing unopposed in her constituency — making her the first woman MP in the kingdom’s history.
The Shia majority, which claims to have faced continuous discrimination in a country ruled by a Sunni dynasty, is out in force to achieve recognition, to the backdrop of Shia ascendancy in Iraq and Iranian defiance of Western demands over its nuclear ambitions.
The Islamic National Accord Association (INAA), which is the major Shia formation in the kingdom, is fielding 17 candidates, after boycotting the 2002 polls to protest at constitutional reforms.
Sunni candidates from the leftist opposition are also running in this year’s elections, allying themselves with INAA in several constituencies.
The outgoing chamber was the first to be elected since parliament was scrapped in 1975, following major reforms which included turning Bahrain into a constitutional monarchy.
These reforms, however, split legislative power between the elected chamber and an equally-numbered consultative council appointed by the monarch.
The main two Sunni Islamist groups controlled 13 seats in the outgoing parliament. The opposition claims that outgoing MPs have failed to curb corruption and to stand up to the government.
Sunni leftist candidate Abdulrahman Al Nuaimi has accused the government of plotting to rig the ballot to make sure that Sunni Islamists and pro-government candidates would win.
‘(The government) wants them (voters) to vote for the Islamist movement and independents who are counted as pro-government,’ he told AFP.
In a controversial report, a former government consultant, Salah Al Bandar, claimed to have uncovered a secret organisation operating within the government to ‘deprive an essential part of the population of this country of their rights’ — an allusion to Shias.
But outgoing Islamist deputy speaker, Adel Al Mawda, defended the performance of the last parliament, claiming that corruption ‘was reduced a great deal after the parliament was elected.’
‘Had we been (pro-government) as they claim, we would not have brought up issues that the government preferred not to see discussed,’ he said.
Islamists are also accused of launching a defamation campaign against leftist and women candidates, playing on religious and sectarian differences.
‘Be careful. Don’t be naive so that you end up with a fate similar to that of the Sunni (Arabs) in Iraq,’ said a text message spread through mobile phones, referring to the growing strength of Shias in Iraq.
Municipal elections will also take place in Bahrain on Saturday, with second rounds in both polls slated for December 2.
