Election date announcement marks final stretch in heated race
The announcement in Bahrain that the third parliamentary and municipal elections will be held on October 23 has marked the final stretch in the increasingly heated race for seats in the lower chamber and on the country’s five municipal councils.
“We are happy with the announcement of the date, but we have been expecting that the elections would be held in October,” Ebrahim Bu Sandal, lawmaker representing Al Asala society, said. “In fact, our expectations were different by only only one week from the announced date. In all cases, we have been ready for some time now thanks to the committee we had set up to monitor all matters related to the elections and to draw up an appropriate comprehensive strategy. We are now implementing that strategy,” he said.
Al Asala, the Salafi society with eight representatives in the 40-seat lower chamber, said that it would this week focus on its partnership with the Islamic Menbar, its main ally in the 2006 elections and throughout the 2006 -2010 parliament. Al Menbar has seven lawmakers.
Al Asala and Al Menbar last month said that they would partner again in the 2010 elections by agreeing on not competing in the same constituencies and on supporting each other’s candidates. Reports about fractures in the alliance following Al Asala’s decision to support independent candidates, a move rejected by the Islamic Menbar, were quickly dismissed as “untrue and malicious” by both societies.
“We will complete the talks this week so that we can focus on practical steps as we move forward,” Bu Sandal said. “We have been in close contact with the people and the people have been supportive of our lawmakers in the 2006 – 2010 parliament. Their popularity means that the society will be fielding them again.”
Al Wefaq, Bahrain’s largest political and religious society and largest parliamentary bloc with 17 members, said that it would announce the final list of its candidates next week.
“We are waiting for the return of Shaikh Ali Salman, the society’s secretary general, who will announce officially the list of the parliamentary and municipal candidates,” his deputy Husain Al Daihi said.
Al Wefaq boycotted the 2002 elections to press for more constitutional reforms, but reversed its stance in 2006 where it had a landslide victory that surprised its most vocal supporters who had expected to carry over 13 constituencies, but won 17 of the 18 constituencies in which it fielded candidates.
The society said that it could field up to 24 candidates in the next elections, but a more likely number is 18. However, finalising the list remains a big challenge for the society that took the unprecedented step of asking its supporters to nominate the candidates.
Abdul Nabi Salman, the secretary general of the Progressive Democratic Tribune, said that the October 23 date had been expected.
“Based on past experiences, we thought that the final two weeks of October were a likely date,” Abdul Nabi said. “There is ample time to finalise the names of the candidates and to formulate a clear vision about the election campaigns.”
The Democratic Menbar will announce its own list and its election platform in mid-Ramadan, the last week of this month, he said.
“However, I do call for a strict application of the law that bans political campaigning more than 45 days before the elections,” he said.
The Islamic Action Society – Amal- said that it would wait until next week to say whether it would take part in the elections.
“We are not in a hurry and we have not decided yet,” Radhwan Al Mousawi, Amal secretary general, said. “We will wait until next week.”
Al Mousawi, whose society boycotted the 2002 and 2006 elections to press for more constitutional changes, welcomed the announcement of the elections date, but called for the publication of the voters’ names and addresses “to ensure more transparency in the election process.”
