Bahrain's leading opposition groups announce election boycott

2011-08-24 By Mohammed Al-Jayousi in Manama

Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, Bahrain's minister of justice, holds a press conference to discuss the elections. [Mohyeldine Anwar/Al-Shorfa]

As Bahrain prepares for a by-election on September 24th, al-Wefaq, Bahrain's largest opposition group, announced it will boycott the elections.

The boycott raises questions about the fate of parliament in an election to replace 18 al-Wefaq members who resigned in February at the height of political demonstrations against the government.

Al-Wefaq announced its plan to boycott on August 12th.

The competition is now under way to win the largest share of 187,080 votes in 18 electoral districts. Candidates have a three-day window to enter the elections from Monday (August 22nd) to Wednesday.

Sheikh Ali Salman, secretary-general of al-Wefaq, said during an August 17th press conference that the decision to boycott is "an institutional decision", and denied it was issued by Sheikh Issa Qassem, al-Wefaq's spiritual guide.

Al-Wefaq is the second opposition society to announce plans to boycott the next parliament after the National Democratic Action Society (Waad).

Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, minister of justice and Islamic affairs and endowments who chairs a committee supervising the elections, said during a press conference last week, "Political life in Bahrain continues and is not waiting for a decision to participate or boycott."

He added, "Whoever wants to boycott, this is their decision and their decision only, but for it to become a public matter where pressure is placed on the will of the voters, this is unacceptable."

Abdul Jalil Khalil, an al-Wefaq leader and head of the bloc that resigned from the House of Representatives, told Al-Shorfa that participating in the by-elections would constitute "extending the current crisis and further complicating the kingdom's political problems".

Khalil added, "The problem is not about the number of seats in parliament as much as it about finding solutions to the political crisis that hit Bahrain. There are 33 dead, 400 injured, 3,000 separated from work and 48 mosques destroyed. There was a greater need for a serious dialogue."

Khalil emphasised al-Wefaq's commitment to its demands for an elected government approved by parliament and to the call for another national dialogue that is "more serious [and] not consumed by formalities," adding that al-Wefaq is continuing its weekly activities to assert its demands.

Security authorities released 147 detainees earlier this month who had been arrested against the backdrop of recent events in the Kingdom, including two al-Wefaq members.

Hakim Shammari, a former candidate in the 2010 parliamentary elections, said the government set higher standards for management of the by-elections in accordance with what he called advanced, transparent frameworks and under the supervision of neutral parties.

Asked about al-Wefaq's boycott, Shammari said, "The people who made the decision are responsible for it, and this party must deal with the outcome of its decision. Democracy varies according to time and place in emerging countries such as Bahrain, and the implications cannot be compared to the boycott by a particular segment or party in the case of developed states."

He said, "History has shown that an opposition boycott is marred by a kind of manipulation and interference by elements from outside the kingdom who are seeking to influence the decision to participate or withdrawal."

Regarding the opposition’s move to escalate activity on the street, Shammari said it was "a stain on the opposition's forehead, which adopted the methods of bandits and pirates on the streets to provoke the centres of political decision-making."

Judge Khalid Ajaji, a member of the committee supervising the elections, said the committee will handle management logistics, ensure that every voter arrives at the ballot box freely, and ensure that each voter's choice represents his will and is recorded to the candidate he selected.

He stressed the importance of monitoring and obtaining support from civil society institutions, aided by judges and the election committee, to ensure integrity and transparency during the elections, he said.

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READER COMMENTS

سحر العيون

2011-10-9

It is the duty of the government to serve the citizens, and not act as their overlords and annihilate them, because they are suffering from injustices, and they have come out in the streets in order to reclaim their stolen rights. Some of them have had their rights violated. This is the very essence of oppression and tyranny. The government should step down immediately, if it wants to have some decency, if it has any left at all. It should leave the people alone. It is enough that they are suffering from injustices, poverty, hunger, unemployment and corruption. The people should elect the government that they consider fit to serve them and ensure their well-being. As such, the repression of the Bahraini people is simply a proof of the barbarous methods used by the government, which does not have any sense of humanity or compassion for the Bahraini citizens. It is a corrupt government, and it needs to be gotten rid of.
azaam

2011-9-20

The King of Bahrain is among the persons who do their duty to the fullest. The Bahraini people love him very much, but there are some dirty gangs who want to sow dissension in the country. However, they have failed in doing so, and investigations are still underway, despite the intense pressures in the Bahraini streets. There are many demonstrations carried out by Shiites in Bahrain, but in low numbers and only in their districts. The Bahraini King Hamad Bin Isa has formed a Committee which is made up of law experts and human rights activists, and is headed by the Egyptian-American expert, Professor Basyouni, with the help of four assistants. They are investigating the truth behind these crises and demonstrations that occurred in Bahrain. I personally think that what this group is doing represents evidence for the development of Bahrain and the continuous attempt to solve these crises. Now, the situation in Bahrain is intense, because this minority Shiite group is influencing the scene. We don’t want the situation to get more complicated, in order to have freedom of opinions and personal ambitions for the Bahraini people. It is thanks to the King that Bahrain is among the best Gulf countries, in terms of the ruler treating the people well. This relationship is based on mutual respect between the people and the President. We hope this will spread to all the Arab countries, and we hope that safety and security will be maintained in the entire Arab world, including Bahrain. We also hope that the Fact Finding Committee will pay more attention to the Bahraini citizens in order to serve them. We as Arabs are proud of the Bahraini state and its justice. We wish it all the best and success, and we hope that the Fact Finding Committee will continue its work in order to arrest the real offenders and set the example for the other Committees. May God bless them.
aamaar

2011-9-10

What democracy in Bahrain? Bahrain is a country that does not have any democracy. This is the reason why the oppressive ruling regime system in Bahrain uses cruel treatment and deals arbitrarily with citizens, and deals with discrimination and engages in the exclusion of others. Here you are – the whole world has seen the fake democracy in Bahrain when the people went out to demand reform; you saw how the regime confronted them and how they killed a lot of unarmed demonstrators without any reason, just because they protested and demanded their rights. The citizen in Bahrain does not have the right to utter any word or criticize the ruling system if there is something wrong that needs to be corrected, and the parliament in Bahrain does not have any role. It is a mere image and a veneer, to convince the citizen and the world that we have democracy, but actually they do not solve anything. The whole decision is in the hands of the king, and he is the one who controls the country in everything. There is nobody who can counsel him if he deviates or makes a wrong decision which does not appeal to the people. Therefore, there should be real democracy in Bahrain, and this is what the people demanded when they went out in these large numbers to ask for their right to criticize the faults. I wish that all the people would stand by the side of Bahrain, so as to carry out the reforms and the change, and to create a real democracy in Bahrain instead of this fake one.
محمد الاسدي

2011-9-10

Keeping pace with the democratic changes which the whole world is witnessing can’t be done by talking or making some decisions that are announced by the ruling authorities. Democracy in any of the countries, especially the Arab countries, can’t be achieved in one night, and this is the case with the Kingdom of Bahrain. I believe that it requires all the efforts and work in order to lay the foundation of the democratic life to which the Bahraini citizen aspires. The Gulf countries in general, and Al-Bahrain among them, are working on providing all the necessary requirements which the Arab citizen needs, because of the financial resources and natural wealth; but I believe that this interest is not enough to turn the country into a democratic one, despite the prosperity which Bahrain witnesses today. I see that it is taking positive steps in the transition to a real democratic life, and to practicing it, and avoiding the form of democratic life which many countries follow, who raise up the banner of democracy but do nothing to implement it. Bahrain has begun to cast off the cloak of tribalism and turn toward civilization, and move toward opening up to the countries of the world. This contributed a lot to the transitions, which helped a great deal in establishing democracy in this country. I don’t deny that democratic life didn’t reach the apex to which the Bahraini citizen aspires, but it has begun to appear gradually, especially after the formation of the Bahraini Consultative Council, and giving permission to form cultural, political and religious associations, and giving the Bahraini woman her full freedom, and for her to be a participant in the political life. If this proves anything, it will prove the real transition to democracy in Bahrain in the last few years, and from my point of view, I feel that Bahrain will witness major advancement and prosperity during the coming years. I also feel that the success of democracy will be achieved through the right practices by the citizens, which need democracy to be well understood. A lot of Bahraini citizens, and Arab citizens in general, don’t understand democracy. They see it as doing whatever one likes, and that cannot be accepted in Arab societies. Democracy is practices, freedom, expressing opinions and criticism, and that’s what I see happening in Bahrain, which is taking steps towards a fledgling democracy in this Arab country.
سجى سرهيد

2011-9-6

There are several democratic dialogues that took place in Bahrain between the government and the opposition parties, in order to figure out a real settlement of the issues political factions disagree on in the country. Most of the opposition parties declared that they would join the national dialogue, which will discuss several main themes, including politics, the economy and the services issues related to the lives of Bahraini citizens, in addition to granting constitutional rights to political parties in order to raise their representation in the Bahraini parliament and to establish the pillars of mutual work to move the country forward in all fields, in order to achieve its renaissance and advancement and to lead Bahrain out of the political crisis it has been going through recently. This is also to restore national unity and serious democratic dialogue, in order to get the country out of its current political crisis, as the size of participation in this dialogue is definite proof of good faith for everyone, in order to reach a comprehensive agreement and to absorb all the pending issues and to come up with the solutions to resolve these issues and to turn them around to serve the interests of the Bahraini people, to guarantee good things for the people of Bahrain by spreading elements of tolerance and fraternity and closing the chapter on the painful past and putting it behind for the sake of the country’s future. The king of Bahrain has confirmed that through the invitations he presented and the reconciliation and mutual understanding projects he suggested, to settle the pending situation between the government and the opposition parties and to discuss these issues democratically, in a way that ensures the rights of all parties and that is accepted by everyone, through seriously considering the issues related to constitutional texts, such as the mechanism of forming the government and its competencies, in addition to the mechanism of selecting the Shura council with a popular will that enables the country to reach a successful dialogue agreed upon by all segments of the Bahraini people. However, it is noticeable that some political blocs didn’t like this, because they have great ambitions and because some of them are connected to foreign agendas that aim at overthrowing the regime in Bahrain and seizing power under the influence of the Iranian experience and other experiences. Therefore, they boycotted the political process now taking place in the country, prior to the popular voting which is now taking place to select new 18 representatives to replace those who resigned during the events.