Bahrain national dialogue

The Bahrain National Dialogue was an initiative instigated by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to promote reform and encourage discussion on the governance of Bahrain. The Dialogue began on 2 July 2011 and participants from over 300 organisations from across the Bahraini political spectrum are able to voice their concerns and thoughts freely and without being subject to conditions. The Dialogue is chaired by Parliament Speaker Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Dhahrani.

The National Dialogue is part of the King’s response to the uprising that started in February 2011 and was running on parallel to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, which was looking into the details of the events and the government response to them.

Out of 300 participants, Al Wefaq, Bahrain's main opposition party had only 5 seats and pulled from the dialogue 2 weeks after it started and about 1 week before it ended. In total the opposition parties had only 25 out of 300 seats, Maryam Alkhawaja said. "By joining the dialogue, Al Wefaq suffered a lot of heavy criticism, and lost a lot of supporters, especially from the youth who felt they were being betrayed" She added.

The process involved forwarding the outcomes of the sessions to HM the King, once they are agreed upon by all participating parties. HM the King then gives Royal orders to the executive and legislative authorities to take the necessary action with regard to the outcomes. The Dialogue’s Chairman had no authority to eliminate any of the topics that have been agreed upon by majority during the sessions.

The topics of discussion for the dialogue were divided into four main areas that revolve around political, social, economic and human rights issues.

There was also a sub-theme covering issues related to expats living in Bahrain, by conducting a forum at the sidelines of the Dialogue.

300 invitations for participation in the national dialogue had bent sent out, with 37% assigned for political societies, 36% for civil and non-governmental organisations, 21% for opinion leaders and prominent figures within the Kingdom of Bahrain and 6% for media representation.

The Civil and non-governmental organisations were covered with a representation of 12% for professional societies, 9% for social societies, 5% for women societies, 5% for youth societies, 3% for the various labour unions and 2% representation from the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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Wikipedia