Manama: The collision course between the human rights and social development ministry and the Bahrain Bar Society over the election of a new board is making ripples.
Lawyers four weeks ago elected a new board for the professional body at a general assembly in Manama.
However, the ministry which oversees clubs and societies said that the elections "did not comply with the legal procedures", annulled the results and reinstated the previous board to run the affairs of the society for another six months.
According to the ministry, a general assembly can be attended only by the members who had been with the society for at least six months and who met the financial obligations.
"As there are no valid lists of the members, there can be no general assembly since the required quorum to meet and elect a new board cannot be calculated," the ministry said.
The bar society did not comply with the 15-day period notice ahead of the election date, the ministry said.
"There were 135 people with no documents evidencing their membership, which meant that the papers required to hold a general assembly were not available and that the conditions were not fulfilled," the ministry said. "The former board should remain in charge of the society and should prepare a genuine list of the members."
However, the bar society said that the elections on November 26 complied with the society's bylaws and government regulations and that the board was elected regularly.
Some membership documents were not available due to the fact that they date back to 1977 when the society was founded, leading members said.
