Manama: Bahrain’s parliamentary elections will be held in November, sources have said.
The announcement carried by the local media on Monday is likely to put an end to months of speculations across Bahrain that the term of the sitting parliament could be extended by one year to allow members who won seats in the 2011 by-elections to sit through four years in order to benefit from a retirement scheme.
The incumbent 40-seat parliament includes 21 members elected in the general elections in October 2010, 18 in the by-elections in 2011 and one in a limited by-election in 2012 to replace former MP Ganem Buainain who was appointed minister of state for foreign affairs.
The 2011 by-elections were held after the MPs from Al Wefaq Society resigned in February to protest against the handling of the dramatic events that unfolded in the country that year.
Attempts by members of the parliament to dissuade them from resigning failed and the elections were eventually held in October.
Bahrain has held parliamentary and municipal elections in 2002, 2006 and 2010 following the promulgation of a new constitution that allowed men and women to vote and run as candidates.
On Saturday, five opposition societies said that they would not take part in the parliamentary elections “unless a clear political agreement is reached.”
Bahrain has been promoting a political dialogue to help heal the wounds caused by the deep divergences between segments of the society over the events of February and March 2011 and their consequences.
A dialogue held in July 2011 brought together delegates from the parliament, political societies, NGOs, the government, the media and labour union who agreed on a series of recommendations that included amending the constitution to give more power to the elected chamber of the bicameral parliament.
The recommendations were endorsed by the king and implemented.
A second round of the dialogue to focus on political issues was launched in February 2013 and brought together delegates from the parliament, political societies and the government. However, it was suspended after the parties could not agree on a platform and on an agenda.
Hope for a new start was renewed after Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa sat with the different stakeholders in separate meetings and asked them for their visions.
On Sunday, Sameera Rajab, the state minister for information and official spokesperson for the government, said that “bilateral meetings between the royal court and the opposition were continuing.”
“There are bilateral consultations between the stakeholders regarding the national dialogue, and when the opposition societies come up with something new, the royal court will certainly comment on it,” the minister said in her meet the press briefing following the weekly cabinet session.
