Bahrain society to field three candidates

Manama: Bahrain's largest non-religious society said that it would field three candidates in its bid to win at least one seat in the lower chamber.

National Democratic Action Society, known as Waad in Arabic, said that Ebrahim Sahrif, its secretary general, Sami Al Siyadi and Muneera Fakhroo would be running in the parliamentary elections slated for either October or November this year.

All three names put forward by the liberal society at its general assembly were expected, even though Fakhroo had for some time said that she would not contest again.

Muneera, a university professor and the liberals' iconic figure in the 2006 elections, lost in a tense second round to Salah Ali, a candidate of the Islamic Menbar, the offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Bahrain.

Ebrahim, the head of the society since 2005, lost to an independent candidate Abdul Rahman Bu Majid.

Both Ebrahim Sharif and Sami Al Siyadi will run in separate constituencies on the island of Muharraq while Muneera will be contesting in the Central Governorate again.

Addressing their supporters on Thursday evening, Ebrahim Sharif and Al Siyadi presented a mainly political platform while Muneera will focus in her programme on education.

At the meeting, Waad paid rich tribute to its spiritual leader Abdul Rahman Al Nuaimi, who lost in the 2006 elections, but has been in coma for years now.

Waad, "promise" in Arabic, now hopes that by bringing down the number of its candidates from six in 2006 to three in 2010, it would better concentrate its efforts on securing a highlight significant win that would consolidate its status.

In 2002, the society boycotted the elections, alongside Al Wefaq, the country's largest political-religious formation, to demand more constitutional reforms. However, when Al Wefaq reversed its stance in 2006, it won 17 of the lower chamber 40 seats.

A loose alliance between Al Wefaq, Waad and four more opposition societies has been often fractured by hesitations to move the largely theoretical accords into concrete joint election moves. Al Wefaq has consistently refused to team up with other societies to help them win seats in largely pro-Al Wefaq constituencies.