A new era of democracy dawns for Bahrainis

The elections in Bahrain that started last week mark a new era of democracy after the first such experiment more than 20 years ago ended in the dissolution of the legislature by the government. Around a quarter of a million Bahrainis had the chance to cast their votes to elect the 40-member House of Representatives.

Before this new age of freedom, the prisons were full of hundreds of human rights victims, and many more were in self-exile. The country is now open for different political groups to elect candidates they want to represent them in parliament. And citizens can exercise the rights granted to them by the constitution, writes Dr Hassan Madan in Al Khaleej (UAE).

The elections have run smoothly, although four opposition groups boycotted the elections in protest against the 2002 constitutional changes, under which the appointed Shura (Consultative Council) has been given legislative powers equal to those given to the elected House of Representatives, states Dr Madan.

But this does not belittle or undermine the newly-born democratic era, as His Majesty the King, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, confirmed in a statement to his people that he respected the rights of any citizen to express these freely, and that any citizen has the right to take part in the elections or boycott them.

The same was stated by the Bahrain Crown Prince at a press conference, states Dr Madan.
Whatever the case may be, the Bahrainis have managed to attain their democratic rights after the first democratic experiment was suspended in the early 1970s. It is also very impressive to see Bahraini women taking part in the elections.

What is taking place in Bahrain might not have met the requirements of some opposition factions, but overall these elections have put the Bahrainis on the right track to democracy once again. At last they have had a taste of the invigorating experience of democracy, concludes Dr. Madan.

The Bahrain elections represent a step forward on the right track. It is important to note the democratic steps taken by the King of Bahrain since he first came to power in March, 1999. His modern line of thinking has managed to prevent the recurrence of domestic disturbances that plagued Bahrain during the 1990s. This new line of thinking has also helped the government overcome the negative impacts of the first democratic experiment, writes Dr. Anwar Gargash in Al Ittihad (UAE).

Despite these considerable efforts, more are required until democratic traditions are well established. However, the switch to democracy in Bahrain is mainly due to the wise leadership, which believes in democracy as a way of meeting the challenges of the future, continues Dr. Gargash.

The second democratic experiment in Bahrain has not been easy, with the bitter experience of the first still fresh in the minds of most Bahrainis. But this first step towards democracy must be made successful if the government wants democracy to thrive, concludes Dr. Gargash.

Some days prior to the elections, the Bahrain King urged all citizens to cast their votes, to respond to the "call of Bahrain". But a group of opposition parties refused to take part in the elections. They preferred remaining outside the democratic process. Is it right on the part of the opposition to boycott the first call for elections, asks Samir Attallah in Asharq Al-Awsat (UK-based).

The opposition must be a tool to set right any governmental malpractice, rather than a device for disintegrating national unity. The King urged opposing factions to take part in the elections, and then try to change the political system from inside the parliament. This means that the king does not fear hardliners being part of the political system, concludes Samir Attallah.

As four political parties have boycotted the elections, some observers thought that the elections would be a failure. But their expectations have proved wrong as these parties have shown a high level of political awareness. They have refused to resort to violence or protest that might be misinterpreted by the political authority as some sort of disorder. However, these factions have expressed in a civilised way the reasons for their boycott of the elections. They held a peaceful symposium attended by about 75,000 citizens to explain the reasons for their boycott, writes Abdulrahman Al Nuaimi in Al Sharq (Qatar).

Moreover, supporters of these parties avoided any behaviour that could be held against them. For this reason, the elections ran very smoothly without any breach of order by the opposing parties or their supporters, adds Al Nuaimi.

The government and the political leadership have listened in a democratic manner to the points of view of all political factions. This behaviour was appreciated by the opposition, and was reflected in the election process, states Al Nuaimi.

Apart from that, the government has exercised different types of pressure on citizens to take part in the elections, from ordering armed forces personnel to vote to promising more facilities to civil servants, criticises Al Nuaimi.

On the whole, the peaceful practices of democracy and civilised behaviour that Bahrain witnessed during the elections are strong proof that democracy in this country will take strong root. These civilised practices are also strong evidence that both the government and opposition are keen on security and stability in the country, whatever approaches each of them adopt, concludes Al Nuaimi.

The Bahraini elections have yielded good results in terms of participation, as more than half of Bahrain's 243,499 registered voters cast their votes. Bahrain has benefited largely from other democratic experiments in the Arab world, such as those in Kuwait and Jordan. It has avoided the drawbacks of the Kuwaiti experiment, but has borrowed the Jordanian bicameral system, which is also based on two councils, each with forty members, writes Shamlan Al Issa in Al-Seyassah (Kuwait).

The first round of elections indicated that Islamist candidates and others supported by religious groups have won the majority of seats. The political authority might have expected the Islamists to win a considerable number of seats in the parliament.

That is because the majority of traditional Arab communities are conservative by nature, and they prefer to give their votes to conservative Islamist candidates. It is strange that most of the Bahraini women, who participated in the elections in great numbers, have given their votes to the Islamist candidates rather than to the eight women candidates, notes Shamlan Al Issa.

But can the political authority in Bahrain restrain the Islamic opposition in the parliament, asks Shamlan Al Issa.

The answer may be implied in the fact that the Consultative Council, which will be appointed later by the king, will be responsible for restraining any extreme proposals from the Islamist members calling for establishment of an Islamic state, concludes Shamlan Al Issa.