Bahraini general election, 2010
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All 40 seats to the lower house |
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General elections were held in Bahrain with the first-round on 23 October 2010, and the second round on 30 October. Al-Wefaq won a plurality. The election followed controversy amidst boycotts and arrests.
The lower house of parliament, for which the election is held, has the authority to pass legislation proposed by the sovereign or the governing cabinet, as well as monitoring authority. The upper consultative council has the power to block legislation from the lower house.
The main opposition party Haq Movement and several other opposition parties such as the Wafa Party, Bahrain Freedom Movement, Khalas Movement and Islamic Action Society decided to boycott the election.
Riots were also reported after several opposition spokespersons were arrested after speaking about human rights issues in Bahrain. The head of Al Wefaq party, also said that "The way the ongoing security campaign has been handled and the rights violations that accompanied it have in one week destroyed 10 years of progress in this country."
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."Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Project on Middle East Democracy noted government arrests and repressions ahread of the election.
The head of the Al Wefaq party, Ali Salman, said the government should be shared with the people, in what was read 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."
About 292 Bahraini observers from non-governmental organizations monitored the elections, though foreign observers were not allowed.
The credibility of the election was threatened by allegations of voting problems. 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. 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."
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