2006 Bahraini general election
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All 40 seats in the Council of Representatives | ||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | ||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in Bahrain in November and December 2006 to elect the forty members of the Council of Representatives. The first round of voting was held on 25 November, with a second round on 2 December 2006.
Voter turnout was 72% in the first round, in which
The elections were preceded by a major political realignment that saw the four opposition parties that boycotted the
Campaign
With Al Wefaq entering the political arena after boycotting the 2002 elections, competing candidates turned their attention to its agenda, particularly the party's relationship with the highest Shia religious body in Bahrain, the Islamic Scholars Council. Several candidates claimed that they were being forced out of the race, including Jassim Abdulaal of the Economists Bloc, by influential clerics who told their congregations whom to vote for.[1] The criticism became more pointed after the Council described Al Wefaq as the 'Bloc of Believers'.
The Shia Islamist Al Amal, which has close links with the 'Shirazi faction', was most specific in its criticism. Its head, Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al Mahfood, complained: "The Islamic Scholars Council should not dictate how people vote and should allow them to make their own personal choices about the most competent candidates. It looks as if the Council has turned into a partisan umbrella for a specific society and this diminishes its authority and confines its influence. We have often blamed the government for appointing 40 members to the bi-cameral parliament, yet we are doing the same thing and hijacking the people's right to make their own choices."[2]
Al Wefaq in turn denied that it intimidated opponents; its leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, told a press conference "Let's make it clear to those campaigning against us, that we respect our competitors, whoever they are, and would do nothing to harm them."[3]
Al Wefaq campaigned for greater government subsidies for low income families, with the party's candidate, Dr Jasim Husain, who is the University of Bahrain Research Deanship Economic Research Unit Head, saying "People today have to pay rent, electricity, telephone, Internet and water bills, in addition to other fees. They have to buy food, clothing, pay for car installments and even recreation. But this is impossible, because many fall short as their salaries are not enough." Dr Husain said that government complacency was a problem, especially after the latest United Nations Human Development Report 2006 ranks Bahrain 39th out of 177 countries and second only to Kuwait in the Arab world.[4] Dr Husain said that the country could do better by looking to the future: "The government should be giving more money to education and training, rather than defence and police. We are not saying that defence and police are not important, but they should be given less attention."[5]
The outgoing parliamentary speaker,
Al Dhahrani, who is backed by Sunni Islamists, has a further challenge in retaining the speakership after his previous performance was criticised for failing to control radical Islamist MPs in the debating chamber. Al Wefaq leader Ali Salman may run for speaker post elections.
Al Wefaq was skillful in how it criticised the government, taking it to task over its track record in providing goods and services to Bahrainis rather than questioning its political legitimacy per se - for instance, in a televised debate on Bahrain TV, Ali Salman accused the administration of being 'lazy',[10] and failing to meet its obligations in education and employment. This is a theme that Al Wefaq is likely to continue in parliament with Ali Salman promising, "If we find the necessary cooperation [from government], we will be highly positive. But if we find that the government or one of its ministers is stalling people's interests, then we will hold them responsible."[11]
Women candidates
A large number of
Several female candidates faced an orchestrated campaign of political abuse against them through text messages telling them to withdraw from the contest and one woman had her election marquee burnt to the ground. Women's organisations have been strongly criticised for not doing enough to support female candidates; liberal columnist
The
Controversy
- Business-political confluence
The domination of politics by religious parties has seen concerns raised by the business community that their voice will be marginalised. The agenda of both Al Wefaq and the Sunni Islamists has been portrayed by opponents as "statist", while there are concerns that the government may be tempted to buy off opponents in parliament through traditional clientelism by providing their supporters with jobs in the civil service, thus further bloating the public sector. Ironically, business representatives, being both liberal and anti-sectarian, tend to have most in common with parties on the Left of Bahrain's political spectrum, such as the
- Al Sistani's intervention
The Leading Shia authority,
Shia religious scholar Sheikh Isa Qassim has been urging voters to go to turn out in the polls. "Boycotting the elections would be a grave mistake," said the fatwa that the Shiite establishment. According to a poll in Al Wasat newspaper, 1.9% of voters will heed calls for a boycott being made by a splinter group of Salafists and the Haq Movement. Turnout was thus expected to be "fairly high" according to a survey by Al Wasat, which predicts that it should be significantly up on 2002's 53% participation rate.[14]
- Ex-Al Qaeda suspects contesting poll
Several individuals contesting the election had faced accused of links with international terrorism. In a bitter battle in
Municipal candidate, Muhieddin Khan, (who is backed by the National Justice Movement) spent most of the election campaign before a Bahraini court charged with planning terror attacks. Mr Khan, along with three other alleged members of the cell, was only found not guilty on 20 November 2006, less than five days before the poll. After the verdict Mr Khan announced that he is suing the Bahraini government for BD700,000 for harassment.
On the Shia Right, Al Amal is seen as the direct descendant of the group that plotted a coup d'état in Bahrain in 1981; the party's leaders only returned to public life in Bahrain after they returned from exile or were released from prison in 2001.
- Other controversies
The political campaign began in controversial circumstances in September 2006, with the
Subsequently, poll monitors, the Bahrain Transparency Society, registered 79 violations ranging from oversized banners and posters, out-of-place billboards, attacks on the character of contenders, dissemination of lies and rumours, anti-women calls and the use of mosques to promote candidates.[18] Opponents of prominent Leftist candidate, Dr Munira Fakhro, have sought to use text messaging to try to portray her as anti-religious, receiving backing from by both the government and Al Wefaq, and drawn attention to her personal wealth. Dr Fakhro dismissed the attacks: "To say that only a poor person can feel with the poor is ludicrous and illogical."[19]
The only member of the royal family to contest the elections, Sheikh Salman bin Saqer Al-Khalifa, has alleged that his opponent in Riffa, Khalifa Al Dhahrani, has the backing of a Kuwaiti tribe which should not be allowed to vote under the electoral rules but will be casting their votes for Al Dhahrani.[20]
The
On 16 November 2006, two activists for the Haq Movement, Dr. Mohammed Saeed and Hussain Abdelrazaq Alhabashi, were arrested by Bahraini police for distributing material urging Bahraini to boycott the November 25 elections.[22]
Expectations and reactions
According to the Dubai-based Gulf News the liberal parties feared that the victory of Islamist parties would restrict person freedom.[23]
There are also concerns that domination of parliament by Islamists from two different sects arguing contentious issues in the chamber may further encourage sectarianism. Bahrain's leading salafist politician, Sheikh Adel Al Mouwdah, has sought to play down the fears and welcomed the prospect of working with Al Wefaq and other Shia Islamists, seeing opportunities for cooperation, saying "I would rather have Islamists from both Sunni and Shiite sects than liberal deputies who do not uphold Islamic values."[24]
Government officials have sought to downplay concerns that the Islamist victory will have negative implications for personal freedoms in the Kingdom. Government spokeswoman, Ahdeya Ahmed, said that the several Islamists represented in the previous parliament had not managed to pass legislation to segregate Bahrain University or introduce 'Vice and Virtue' police, and neither had Shia and Sunni Islamists working together on municipal councils sought to target people's rights.[25]
Almost immediately after Ahmed made her comments, new Al Wefaq MP, Sayed Abdulla Al A'ali, announced that he wanted to see legislation introduced to restrict employment opportunities for women to prevent them entering 'male orientated jobs'.[26] While the government has reacted to the sweeping Islamist victory by announcing a clamp on alcohol sales in residential areas.[27]
Results
| Party | First round | Second round | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| Al Wefaq | 16 | 1 | 17 | |||||
| Al-Menber Islamic Society | 4 | 3 | 7 | |||||
| Al Asalah | 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||
| Independents | 5 | 6 | 11 | |||||
| Total | 29 | 11 | 40 | |||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 295,686 | 72.0 | 73.6 | |||||
| Source: IPU | ||||||||
References
- ^ "Another 'Bahraini Tale'". 6 November 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2006.
- ^ "Bahrain Shiite body accused of bias". Gulf News. 14 November 2006. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Gulf News [dead link]
- ^ "UNDP - United Nations Development Programme". Archived from the original on 20 April 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2006.
- ^ "Gulf Daily News". Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2006.
- ^ "Bahrain plans unemployment benefits - Boston.com". Archived from the original on 23 May 2007.
- ^ "Gulf News". Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
- ^ "Gulf News". Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2006.
- ^ "Gulfnews: Bahraini royal not to withdraw from the parliamentary poll race". Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2006.
- ^ Yahoo News! [dead link]
- ^ "Gulfnews: Opposition 'will win 25 seats in parliament polls'". Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
- ^ "Gulfnews: Women's rights groups under fire for silence". Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
- ^ "Gulf Daily News". Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2006.
- ^ "Gulfnews: High turnout expected in Bahrain polls". Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
- ^ "Middle East Online". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2006.
- ^ "300 protesters in Bahrain demand investigation into alleged conspiracy to rig elections - iht,africa,Bahrain Elections - Africa & Middle East - International Herald Tribune". Archived from the original on 26 November 2006. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
- ^ "Khaleej Times Online - Bahrain king reassures Shia clergy over polls". Archived from the original on 10 October 2006. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ Gulf News [dead link]
- ^ "Gulf Daily News". Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- ^ Gulf News [dead link]
- ^ Carlstrom, Gregg. "Bahrain activists fear wider unrest". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Two Activists Charged with Inciting People to Boycott Upcoming Elections and Demanding a Change in the System of Government". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
- ^ "Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema".[dead link]
- ^ Gulf News http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10084607.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) [permanent dead link] - ^ Gulf News http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10085797.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) [permanent dead link] - ^ "Gulf Daily News". Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2006.
- ^ "Gulf Daily News". Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2006.
