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BAHRAIN: Elections Will Test Shia Resolve

Suha Mohammed

MANAMA, Sep 24 2011 (IPS) - Bahrain’s by-elections on Saturday are a test of will to see if majority Shias will turn out to vote in areas where they are dominant or heed a boycott call by the powerful opposition Al-Wefaq (National Islamic Society) party.

The elections had to be called after Al-Wefaq members quit the 18 seats they held in the 40-member lower house of parliament in February to protest against a crackdown on Shia demonstrators demanding true democracy in the kingdom.

In March, the kingdom called in troop reinforcements from neighbouring Sunni monarchies like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to crush the Shia protests. At least 24 people, including four policemen, are reported to have died in the Shia unrest.

Hala, a Shia woman, told IPS that she would be casting her vote in spite of the boycott call and a fatwa by Shia cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Isa, out of love for Bahrain. “We cannot keep the country on hold, and participation would mean that we can move forward to overcome difficulties,” she told IPS.

However, fearing for her safety, Hala will not be casting her vote at the polling station near her house but go to a general polling centre at the Bahrain International Airport where security is tight.

The Supreme Election Committee has increased the number of general polling centres from five to nine to enable voters to safely cast their votes outside their own residential areas.

Another eligible Shia voter, Jassim, said he was prepared to risk losing his job rather than disobey a fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Sheikh Isa. “We (Shias) don’t have second thoughts about following whatever Ayatollah Sheikh Isa says as he knows better than us,” he told IPS.

The ‘Al-Ayyam’ daily, considered a mouthpiece of the government, reported on Wednesday that the government may move to deny jobs and public services to those who do not participate in the elections.

Several candidates have withdrawn from the polls, a fact which the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society blamed on threats and intimidation.

“We aren’t against religious figures or any opposition groups boycotting election, but forcing others not to participate in the by-polls cannot be accepted,” the general secretary of the society, Faisal Fulad, said.

Shia political leader and general-secretary of Al Wefaq, Shaikh Ali Salman had called upon his followers on Aug. 23 to boycott what he referred to as a “mockery by-poll” which, he said, would only serve to reinforce the “status quo of absence of democracy”.

Salman has dismissed charges that there were Iranian links to the disturbances in Bahrain.

Abduljalil Al Aali, a candidate running from a constituency in the northern district of Bahrain believes that the by-poll would be succesful as many Bahrainis have told him that they were keen to participate.

“We have to look at the bright side as this by-poll is an opportunity for political change,” Aali said.

A candidate in the central district, Dr Somaya Al Jowder told IPS: “No one in Bahrain remains the same after unrest, so joining the elections would be my contribution to bring normality to the country.”

Al-Wefaq wants to see fundamental reforms that would see Bahrain run by a constitutional monarchy with an elected government, a fully empowered parliament and an independent judiciary.

However, Al-Wefaq would also like to see cut to size the upper house of Parliament, whose 40 members appointed by the king can block the initiatives made by the lower house.

Bahrain’s Shia majority accuses the monarchy of discrimination against them in land rights and employment while encouraging the naturalisation of Sunni Muslims from countries like Syria and Pakistan.

Al-Wefaq did join a national dialogue in July initiated by the monarchy to re-launch political reform in Bahrain, but soon pulled out saying the dialogue did not represent the will of the people.

Nevertheless, the government says the new post-election parliament will legislate on issues taken up at the dialogue.

“Parliament will have more powers following agreements made by the national dialogue…(which) has reached agreement on about 200 key political, economic and human rights issues,” said a government statement.