BAHRAIN - Pressing Ahead With Democratisation.

Despite the challenges, Bahrain has been moving ahead with reforms in the way the king promised after he succeeded his father. The latest development in this process was the general elections to the National Assembly held on Oct. 24, 2002. The election was the first since the last parliament was dissolved in 1975.

Ahead of the polls, King Hamad urged Bahrainis to uphold national unity and vote. In a TV address, he asked: "What shall fathers and mothers tell their children if we boycott the future. We have embarked on a historic process and we are not going back". His comment regarding the boycott were directed at four mainly Shiite parties, including the popular mainstream Jamiat Al Wafaq, which were shunning the election in protest at amendments that essentially equate the 40-seat elected assembly to another council appointed by the king.

There was a sectarian aspect to these moves by the ruler and by the opposition, with the Shiites considering themselves to be the disadvantaged segment of Bahraini society, while at the same time being the majority. On Oct. 22, for example, between 5,000-10,000 people turned up at an opposition rally, in a public sign of the discontent and division in the kingdom - but the opposition also acknowledged that such a political rally would have been inconceivable before 1999.

According to the Shiite-dominated Islamist parties, since the elected 40-member assembly is equivalent to the royally appointed 40-member council, in reality it means that any reform not to the liking of the ruling Sunni elite could be blocked. Their central complaint is that the parliamentary model being implemented is not based on the 1973 constitution, suspended in 1975, which was re-instated in a national referendum in 2001.

That constitution allowed for an all-elected legislature, opposition leaders argue, but following the referendum, the formula was changed to allow for half the legislature to be elected and half to be appointed by the king. The government and the opposition still differ on whether this was sanctioned by the referendum. The opposition continues to say the constitution was "illegally amended". Further, the Islamists are also opposed to the fact that women were allowed to vote.

Sheikh Ali Salman, the head of Jamiat Al Wafaq, told the Oct. 22 rally: "We do not want to be witness to a defective birth of parliament. We want to continue our march for political reform and we will fight for our rights, but we have to do it peacefully". Abdulrahman Al Noaimi, chairman of the National Democratic Action Society, added: "Those of us who chose to boycott the elections have, in fact, participated in improving political awareness, especially with government officials on the importance of a differing point of view. We have given them a medicine that is good for their health, although they may not like the taste".

Eventually, however, the elections were more successful than anticipated. The voter turnout was 53%, well above expectations, which suggested that the boycott effort was not as effective as the opposition parties would have liked. But, on the other hand, the elections did not bring the opposition into the political process, a key goal of the ruling Al Khalifa family. Opposition leaders also complained that the government used authoritarian tactics to thwart the boycott. Voters all had their passports stamped, leading to fears among citizens that they might suffer consequences if they did not have the stamp. The government also sent letters to all households, listing the registered voters in each household and saying that participating in the vote was a "national duty".