NDI Gulf resident director farred from entering Bahrain
Bahrain has barred the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Gulf resident director from entering the country, local reports have said.
No official statement was made about the reason for not allowing Staci Haag to enter Bahrain, but Al Watan daily said that the decision was made after the Washington-based institute had incurred the wrath of officials and several lawmakers for “failing to comply with an agreement it had reached with the Bahraini authorities.”
According to the paper, the NDI organized a workshop in Manama for members of political societies on ways to deal with the parliament and municipal councils, but without coordinating with the Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD) despite an accord reached by both parties.
Eisa Al Khayyat, BIPD executive director, had earlier told the NDI that they were keen on cooperating with the institute, but stressed the “importance of respecting Bahrain’s sovereignty and complying with its laws.”
According to Al Watan, the NDI said that it had not broken the accord and explained that the workshop did not directly target political societies and that it was organized in an hotel for the benefit of individuals planning to run in the autumn elections.
Staci Haag, a Senior Programme Manager for the NDI for International Affairs, manages the institute’s programming in the Gulf region from Doha. Her international election observation experience includes accreditation as an international observer in Iraq and Sierra Leone.
Bahrain’s relations with the NDI moved from a warm welcome in early 2002 when it was invited to help promote democratic practices and prepare the nation for the breakthrough elections following a three-decade hiatus to outright outrage in 2005 when it was accused of bias towards some political associations and attempts to influence local politics “based on a self-serving agenda.”
Fawzi Guleid, its Somalia-born representative left Bahrain in May 2006 at the expiry of his residency visa amid accusations leveled mainly by Islamist MPs of non-compliance with Bahrain’s laws. NDI said that it would continue its activities in Bahrain from its Washington office
