Manama: A Bahraini lawmaker in the outgoing parliament has urged the powerful business community chamber to come forth and declare its support of candidates for the legislative elections.
"Bahrain Chamber for Commerce and Industry (BCCI) needs to clarify its support to candidates so that there would be no abuses," Jasem Hussain said. "There are several candidates who have been claiming that they had special rapports with the business community and that they were backed by the chamber, so there is a need to put an end to this confusion," he said.
Jasem, a business analyst and professor who represented Al Wefaq, the largest parliamentary bloc, in the 2006-2010 parliament, said that he welcomed the presence of more economists in the lower chamber to help boost economy-related issues.
"Unfortunately, I do not expect more economists to be voted in," he said. "Al Wefaq will nevertheless focus a lot of its efforts and work on economic issues."
The BCCI has repeatedly said that it would support candidates who would uphold the business community interests and explain its views during debates at the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament.
Several business people have complained that the outgoing parliament had been negative with business issues and that most of the lawmakers were more interested in populist issues and sensationalism alongside sectarian lines.
The BCCI said that it would soon announce the names of candidates it wanted to reach the 40-seat lower chamber.
In the meantime, the list of the nine candidates selected by Al Wefaq to run for the legislative elections in autumn has waded into controversy.
The society, the largest political and religious formation in Bahrain, said that it would field between 18 and 24 candidates in the polls, but the list would have to be approved at several levels before it becomes final.
Al Wefaq said that it would rely mainly on the people's choices to draw up the list and that it has been holding village community hall meetings to discuss names and options. An initial list of 600 names was drastically shortened and so far only nine names have been announced amid claims that they could be changed at a later stage.
Al Wefaq said that it would allow only the most competent of its former lawmakers to run again in the elections. However, some of the nine names announced last week came as a surprise to supporters who charged that they failed to deliver on their campaigning promises.
On the other hand, while the omission of Ali Salman, the leader of Al Wefaq, was expected after he repeatedly announced that he wanted to pull out of the parliament and remain as a leading figure outside the legislative chamber, the alleged dropping of Jalal Fairooz and Hamza Al Dairi could cause headaches for the society.
Jalal was a vociferous voice during the parliamentary term inside the lower chamber and at majlises while Al Dairi, a religious figure, has huge prominence in his village, Al Dair. Both men are reportedly willing to run again.
Activists still cling to the slimming hope that Al Wefaq will field a woman in the elections.
So far, only one society, Bahrain National Action Society "Waad" has selected a woman, Muneera Fakhroo, to run for a seat in the lower chamber that includes only one woman lawmaker, Lateefa Al Gaood, who was elected unopposed in 2006. The upper 40-seat chamber has ten women members, including the former health minister.
