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General elections were held in Bahrain in October 2010 to elect the forty members of the Council of Representatives. [1] The first round of voting was held on 23 October, with a second round on 30 October. [2] Amidst boycotts and arrests, Al Wefaq won 18 of the 40 seats. Four women were elected. [3]
The main opposition party Haq Movement and several other opposition parties such as the Al-Wafa Islamic Movement, Bahrain Freedom Movement, Khalas Movement and Islamic Action Society called for a boycott of the elections, [4] on the grounds that participation would be "tantamount to accepting the unjust sectarian apartheid system."
There were also further arrests and repressions of the Shia majority. Shia political activists and international human rights watchdogs warned of a "drift back to full-blown authoritarianism." However, Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa claimed the arrests were "not linked to elections." [5] Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Project on Middle East Democracy noted government arrests and repressions ahead of the election.[ citation needed ]
The head of the Al Wefaq party, Ali Salman, said the government should be shared with the people, in what was seen as an open challenge to the ruling Al-Khalifa dynasty. "It is unacceptable that power be monopolised by a single family, even one to which we owe respect and consideration. We look forward to the day when any child of the people, be they Sunni or Shia, can become prime minister." [6]
A total of 292 Bahraini observers from non-governmental organizations monitored the elections, though foreign observers were not allowed. [7]
Allegations were made of problems on election day; Al Wefaq's Sheikh Ali Salman claimed at least 890 voters were not allowed to vote in mostly Shia districts because their names were absent from electoral lists. "This is not the full number. We expect it to be higher." The party tallied up the voters who said there were not allowed to vote, in order to use these numbers to challenge to the official results. [8] The opposition also expressed concern that the authorities used the votes of military personnel in favour of some candidates at the expense of others in an "exploitation of general positions." [6]
More than 318,000 were eligible to vote. [7] Head of the electoral commission and Justice Minister, Sheikh Khaled bin Ali al-Khalifa, gave an estimate of turnout of "at least 67 percent," less than the 72% in 2006 and 53.4% in 2002. [5] 127 candidates stood in the election.[ citation needed ]
Al Wefaq won 18 of the 40 seats, one more than the previous election. [2] Shia and independent candidates won a majority of seats for the first time.[ citation needed ]
| Party | First round | Second round | Total seats | +/– | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
| Al Wefaq | 18 | 0 | 18 | +1 | |||||
| Al Asalah | 2 | 1 | 3 | –2 | |||||
| Al-Menber Islamic Society | 0 | 2 | 2 | –5 | |||||
| Independents | 11 | 6 | 17 | +6 | |||||
| Total | 31 | 9 | 40 | 0 | |||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 318,668 | – | 171,000 | – | |||||
| Source: IPU | |||||||||
| Governorate | District | Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||
| Capital | 1 | Adel Assoumi | Independent | 1,878 | 65.32 | |||
| 2 | Khalil Al Marzooq | Al Wefaq | 2,141 | 58.40 | ||||
| 3 | Hadi Al Mousawi | Al Wefaq | 1,926 | 85.64 | ||||
| 4 | Abduljalil Khalil | Al Wefaq | Elected unopposed | |||||
| 5 | Mohammed Mezel | Al Wefaq | 1,667 | 67.24 | ||||
| 6 | Abdulrahman Bumajeed | Independent | 1,144 | 56.89 | ||||
| 7 | Abdulmajid Al Sebea | Al Wefaq | 1,842 | 63.45 | ||||
| 8 | Jameel Kadhim | Al Wefaq | 2,818 | 86.20 | ||||
| Muharraq | 1 | Adel Al Maawda | Al Asalah | Elected unopposed | ||||
| 2 | Abdul Hameed Al Meer | Independent | 1,357 | 43.83 | 1,737 | 58.60 | ||
| 3 | Ali Ahmed | Al Menber | 1,140 | 37.11 | 1,675 | 55.03 | ||
| 4 | Mahmood Al Mahmood| | Independent | 1,904 | 26.41 | 3,418 | 52.58 | ||
| 5 | Isa Al Kooheji | Independent | 1,891 | 57.62 | ||||
| 6 | Ali Al Asheeri | Al Wefaq | 4,422 | 83.77 | ||||
| 7 | Othman Sharif | Independent | 4,562 | 55.72 | ||||
| 8 | Ghanem Al Buainain | Al Asalah | 2,099 | 42.85 | 2,774 | 59.49 | ||
| Northern | 1 | Matar Ibrahim Matar | Al Wefaq | 7689 | 85.72 | |||
| 2 | Ali Al Aswad | Al Wefaq | 6,577 | 87.71 | ||||
| 3 | Abdul Hussain Al Metghawi | Al Wefaq | 6,523 | 89.98 | ||||
| 4 | Hassan Al Dossari | Independent | 1,545 | 57.82 | ||||
| 5 | Mohammed Majeed | Al Wefaq | 5,132 | 86.76 | ||||
| 6 | Mohammed Ismail Al Ammadi | Al Menber | 3,263 | 45.22 | 3,777 | 56.82 | ||
| 7 | Jassim Hussain | Al Wefaq | 5,107 | 59.03 | ||||
| 8 | Jawad Fairooz | Al Wefaq | 5,954 | 54.99 | ||||
| 9 | Hassan Sultan | Al Wefaq | 8,814 | 89.43 | ||||
| Central | 1 | Salman Abdullah Salem | Al Wefaq | 6,175 | 67.49 | |||
| 2 | Abdullah Al Aali | Al Wefaq | 7,242 | 88.99 | ||||
| 3 | Adnan Al Maliki | Independent | 1,875 | 45.18 | 2,533 | 59.36 | ||
| 4 | Isa Al Qadhi | Independent | 3,237 | 43.13 | 3,905 | 55.99 | ||
| 5 | Abdali Mohammed Hassan | Al Wefaq | 3,501 | 56.65 | ||||
| 6 | Hassan Isa | Al Wefaq | 5,308 | 91.96 | ||||
| 7 | Abdulhalim Murad | Al Asalah | 3,178 | 55.9 | ||||
| 8 | Ali Zayed | Independent | 3,108 | 39.75 | 3,888 | 50.20 | ||
| 9 | Khalifa Al Dhahrani | Independent | 3,586 | 77.42 | ||||
| Southern | 1 | Jassim Al Saeedi | Independent | 2,538 | 62.71 | |||
| 2 | Abdullah Huwail | Independent | 1,194 | 52.44 | ||||
| 3 | Ahmed Al Mulla | Independent | 968 | 30.6 | 2012 | 71.99 | ||
| 4 | Abdullah Al Dossari | Independent | Elected unopposed | |||||
| 5 | Khamis Al Rumaihi | Independent | Elected unopposed | |||||
| 6 | Lateefa Al Gaood | Independent | Elected unopposed | |||||
| Source: Bahrain Commission for Legislation and Legal Opinion and Alwasat Newspaper | ||||||||
Shia cleric and MP Sheikh Ali Salman lauded the result and called for a "more positive" stance from the government. "The most important message for the government is that Al Wefaq (INAA) is the largest political association in Bahrain. The people's will must be respected and dealt with positively." [5]
A local analyst, Obaidaly al-Obaidaly, said the press campaign that accompanied the arrests resulted in a favourable outcome for Al Wefaq. "The Shiites who were hesitant or intended to boycott the elections voted overwhelmingly in favour of Al Wefaq, the representative of their community. Baqer al-Najar, a sociology professor at the University of Bahrain also said "The way the media handled the security situation which prevailed prior to the elections unexpectedly raised Al Wefaq's shares. Shiites felt that they were targeted so they voted intensely for Al Wefaq despite their restlessness with its performance throughout the past four years." [5]
Following the 2011 Bahraini protests, all 18 Al Wefaq MPs resigned from parliament. [9]
Politics of Bahrain has since 2002 taken place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy where the government is appointed by the King of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The head of the government since 2020 is Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who became Prime Minister following the death of Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and who also serves as Deputy Commander of the Bahrain Defence Force. The parliament is a bicameral legislature, with the Council of Representatives elected by universal suffrage, and the Consultative Council appointed directly by the king.
Islam is the state religion in Bahrain. Due to an influx of immigrants and guest workers from non-Muslim countries, such as India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the overall percentage of Muslims in the country has declined since the late 20th century. Bahrain's 2010 census indicated that 70.2% of the population is Muslim. The last official census (1941) to include sectarian identification reported 52% as Shia and 48 per cent as Sunni of the Muslim population.
Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, sometimes shortened to simply Al-Wefaq, was a Shi'a Bahraini political party, that operates clandestinely after being ordered by the highest court in Bahrain to be dissolved and liquidated. Although from 2006 to 2011 it was by far the single largest party in the Bahraini legislature, with 18 representatives in the 40-member Bahraini parliament, it was often outvoted by coalition blocs of opposition Sunni parties and independent MPs reflecting gerrymandering of electoral districts. On 27 February 2011, the 18 Al-Wefaq members of parliament submitted letters of resignation to protest regime violence against pro-reform Bahraini protestors.
Ali Salman Ahmed Salman is a Bahraini Twelver Shi'a cleric and the Secretary-General of the Al-Wefaq political society. In January 1995, the Bahraini government forcibly exiled him to Dubai for leading a popular campaign demanding the reinstatement of the constitution and the restoration of parliament during the 1990s Uprising. From there he made his way to London and sought asylum. He continued opposition activities from London, where he was associated with the Bahrain Freedom Movement. Salman returned to Bahrain in March 2001 in a general amnesty as part of a set of political reforms announced by King Hamad.
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The 2011Bahraini uprising was a series of anti-government protests in Bahrain led by the Shia-dominant and some Sunni minority Bahraini opposition from 2011 until 2014. The protests were inspired by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring and protests in Tunisia and Egypt and escalated to daily clashes after the Bahraini government repressed the revolt with the support of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Peninsula Shield Force. The Bahraini protests were a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of non-violent civil disobedience and some violent resistance in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain. As part of the revolutionary wave of protests in the Middle East and North Africa following the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, the Bahraini protests were initially aimed at achieving greater political freedom and equality for the 70% Shia population.
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The background of the Bahraini uprising dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century. The Bahraini people have protested sporadically throughout the last decades demanding social, economic and political rights. Demonstrations were present as early as the 1920s and the first municipal election was held in 1926. Ruled by Al Khalifas since 1783, Bahrain was a British protectorate for most of the twentieth century. The National Union Committee (NUC) formed in 1954 was the earliest serious challenge to the status quo. Two year after its formation, NUC leaders were imprisoned and deported by authorities.
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