Section one: Sunni societies struggle to form a united front
Section two: Will independents outperform political societies in Muharraq?
Click the links for Citizens for Bahrain’s Definitive Elections Guide or the full Q&A
Sunni societies struggle to form a united front
The elections process has been traumatic for the Al-Fateh Coalition. Protracted negotiations in the months leading up to the candidate registration deadline in late October produced very few tangible results in efforts to reach a unified Al-Fateh list. The sudden announcement of the constituency boundary modifications which affected nearly every electoral district effectively sent these Al-Fateh negotiations back to square one.
Al-Fateh is a loose coalition of seven political societies which are broadly Sunni-loyalist in orientation:
· Al-Minbar al-Islami (Islamic League) – Society with links to the Muslim Brotherhood
· National Unity Gathering (NUG) – Grouping formed in the aftermath of the 2011 unrest to confront the stance of the opposition.
· Mithaq al-Amal al-Watani (National Action Charter) – Society set up in 2002 in support of the King’s new constitution
· Al-Wasat al-Arabi – Centrist Arab nationalist society
· Islamic Shura Society
· National Dialogue Society – Set up in support of the post-2011 dialogue process
· Al-Tajammu al-Dusturi (Constitutional Assembly)
Two other Sunni loyalist societies – the Salafist Al-Asalah and Al-Saff from the outset disassociated themselves from these Al-Fateh attempts to reach a unified list. However, there seem to have been some bilateral contacts between Minbar and Asalah with the aim of coordinating their electoral position.
Minbar and Asalah succeeded in coordinating their campaign in the 2006 elections but were less successful in reaching a common position in 2010, with the result that they went head-to-head in a number of constituencies and only won five seats between them.
The stated aim of Al-Fateh’s efforts for a coordinated position was to combat potential opposition attempts to capture marginal seats. However, opposition parties maintained their decision to boycott and the differing positions and objectives of the Al-Fateh societies came to the forefront. The result was that by late September, many of the separate societies had announced their own uncoordinated lists, leading to numerous constituencies where the parties were set to clash.
In the middle of this difficult process Al-Wasat announced that it was “suspending” its participation within Al-Fateh, presumably as a result of the tensions arising from within these talks. However, when Al-Wasat Secretary-General Ahmed Al Binali announced that he would stand for election in the 3rd Muharraq district, no other Al-Fateh grouping stood against him, and his name was eventually included on the Al-Fateh list which indicates that an understanding was reached (although Al Binali still has to face an Asalah candidate).
In the weeks before the registration deadline, we find that one by one various Al-Fateh societies withdrew their support from individual candidates in constituencies where two rival candidates had been slated to stand. We can assume that this was as a result of multilateral and bilateral talks between the societies and mutually beneficial deals. Not surprisingly this caused a certain amount of bitterness when a candidate discovered that a society that they were a member of had withdrawn their support.
In some cases that candidate quietly withdrew from the contest and in others the candidate chose to stand as an independent; in several cases making pointed comments to the press about falling public support for political societies!
As a result of this torturous process. By the final deadline of the registration process, there seems to have been more success than had previously been anticipated. Al-Fateh societies only clash with each other in two constituencies. So in both 10th Northern and 1st Southern we find Minbar, NUG and Asalah competing against each other. In 13 other constituencies only a single Al-Fateh candidate would be standing, although in two of these (3rd Muharraq and 7th Muharraq) an Al-Fateh candidate stands against an Asalah candidate. In 8th Muharraq we also find a single representative for Al-Saff, which may indicate that there was a certain degree of coordination there too.
However, in late October Al-Fateh and Al-Minbar were dealt a further blow when 4th Southern candidate Hashim al-Madani was disqualified from the contest because the court decided that he did not permanently reside in that constituency, leaving another constituency without an Al-Fateh candidate.
While some critics have said that partisan interest triumphed and Al-Fateh failed to achieve a common position, in general we can say that these loyalist/Sunni societies actually succeeded in finding more common ground than many people expected.
Does Al-Fateh have an election platform?
The problem is that these efforts have publically exposed the weakness of Al-Fateh; which at the end of the day is a loose grouping of societies with very different aims and aspirations. So rather that going into the elections contest with a strong and unified brand and a clear sense of purpose, the experience of the last few months has put in doubt whether Al-Fateh possesses a single collective identity and whether the individual candidates and societies will benefit from their association with Al-Fateh.
In practice, each of the societies seems to be coming out with its own elections platform and there are notable differences in how these societies present themselves.
The National Unity Gathering for these elections has been at pains to portray itself as more liberal than other affiliated Islamist societies. It has vocally backed its two female candidates Sima al-Lengawi and Jehan Mohammed, and several NUG candidates are technocrats and business figures.
Conversely, some pundits believe that Al-Minbar will lose out from its Muslim Brotherhood affiliations. With Egypt and Saudi Arabia declaring the MB to be a terrorist entity, many people are more hesitant at aligning themselves with a movement that some consider to be suspect. Al-Minbar performed badly in 2010, only acquiring two seats, so they will be nervous about prospects this time round.
In the meantime, more than 90% of the registered candidates for the elections are independents and in most of the Capital and Northern constituencies there aren’t any Al-Fateh candidates standing. Many of the Al-Fateh candidates themselves are up against strong and prominent independents. This comes at a time when many media pundits are quick to say that the public has “lost its trust in political societies”.
So we can say with complete certainty that the majority of the 40 parliamentary seats will be taken by independent candidates. The independent share could easily constitute three quarters of the seats.
There is still a month to go until the vote and so with the divisive candidacy negotiations behind it, Al-Fateh and its constituent parts can now go ahead confidently and re-establish its brand and elections priorities with voters. Whatever its performance on 22 November, Al-Fateh will remain a force to be reckoned with in Bahraini politics.
Al-Fateh and Al-Asalah candidates in the 2014 elections
4th Capital
Ibrahim al-Mannai – Mithaq
10th Capital
Wajih Baqer – Al-Mithaq
1st Muharraq
Saadi Mohammed – Minbar
2nd Muharraq
Salim Rajab – NUG
3rd Muharraq
Ahmed Al Binali – Al-Wasat
Abdulnasir al-Mahmeed – Asalah
4th Muharraq
Abdullah al-Aynati – NUG
5th Muharraq
Sami al-Shaer –NUG
7th Muharraq
Ali Yaqoub al-Muqla – Asalah
Nasir al-Fadhalah – Minbar
8th Muharraq
Abdullah Bughamar – Al-Saff (non-Fateh)
8th Northern
Adel al-Dhawadi – Minbar
9th Northern
Ahmed Arad – NUG
10th Northern
Khalid al-Maloud – Asalah incumbent
Mohammed Ismail al-Ammadi – Minbar Incumbent
*Sima al-Lengawi – NUG
1st Southern
Adnan al-Maliki – Asalah Incumbent
Khalid al-Qattan – Minbar
*Jehan Mohammed Hadi – NUG
3rd Southern
Abdulhalim Murad – Asalah Incumbent
5th Southern
Abdulrazzaq al-Hattab – Asalah
6th Southern
Mohammed al-Buainain – Mithaq
9th Southern
Mohammed al-Quwwati – NUG
Will independents outperform political societies in Muharraq?
1st Muharraq (Busaiteen) 2nd Muharraq / 3rd Muharraq / 4th Muharraq (Muharraq central – Qalali)
Sunni Islamist parties have traditionally done well in these central Muharraq constituencies, although some observers are predicting a decline in voter support for established political groupings. One newspaper survey of local constituents discovered considerable frustration with the perceived performance of previous MPs, saying that there was a desire for candidates who could demonstrate that they sought “the public interest, not personal interests”.
In the 1st Muharraq district based around Busaiteen we find pro-Muslim Brotherhood Al-Minbar al-Islami competing against a former member of the Salafist Al-Asalah society; incumbent MP Adel al-Moawdah. Al-Moawdah is a prominent figure and will be a tough candidate to beat.
Al-Watan, the moderate and more-secular political society, has put forward the female candidate Mariam al-Jowder in 1st Muharraq, but she will have a tough battle to fight to get a significant share of the vote. We can expect this to be a hard-fought contest and go to a second round.
The 2nd Muharraq constituency lies in the densely-populated central town of Muharraq and in geographical size is one of the smallest constituencies in Bahrain. Alongside a representative for the Sunni-loyalist National Unity Gathering, there are numerous independent candidates in this constituency who again will be depending on a decline in support for political societies.
For 3rd Muharraq, the Secretary-General of the Al-Wasat Society – Ahmed Al Binali – is a prominent face in this contest. Al-Wasat froze their inclusion within the Al-Fateh Coalition during lengthy and tense negotiations prior to the elections in which Al-Fateh ultimately failed to put forward a unified electoral list. Ahmed Al Binali is up against several independent candidates and a representative of the Salafist Al-Asalah Society.
Urban areas of Muharraq like 4th Muharraq would be expected to favour an independent lotyalist candidate. However a dense patchwork of local communities have to be taken into account; Hawala, Bahrani, Ajam and tribal Arabian. Thus, we find a slightly more cosmopolitan range of candidates than in other areas, including the only female candidate in Muharraq, Rima Halal.
Independent incumbent – Isa al-Kooheji – will have to fight off the National Unity Gathering representative, Ambassador Abdullah al-Aynati; and a number of independent rivals.
1st Muharraq
(Busaiteen)
Registered voters: 8,071
Adel Abdulrahman Jassim al-Moawdah – formerly Asalah Incumbent
Cleric Adel al-Moawdah was a prominent member of the Salafist Al-Asalah Society, before leaving the organization. He has held a parliamentary seat since the 2002 elections and is now standing for the first time as an independent. In 2010 no other candidates stood against him.
Al-Moawdah stressed the need for people of “high skills” in the coming Parliament, for “promoting growth and solving the existing challenges”. He stressed the issues of unemployment, and services for the elderly.
Dr. Saadi Mohammed Abdullah Ali – Minbar
Saadi – who represents Al-Minbar al-Islami Society – stressed his good relationship with his opponent Adel al-Moawdah, noting that there had been attempts for a unified candidacy, although Al-Moawdah is no longer a member of Al-Asalah.
Saadi told the media that the Al-Fateh Coalition (of which Minbar is a part) “contains numerous currents, Islamic, liberal and left-wing”, noting that there was a desire for Al-Fateh to form a coherent bloc in the coming Parliament.
Dr. Saadi won a seat in the 2002-2006 Parliament, but lost to Adel al-Assoumi in 1st Capital in 2006. The fact that he is now contesting a Muharraq seat forced him to defend his local connections and support when challenged by the media.
Ali Isa Abdullah Ahmed Bufursan
Bufursan told Al-Watan newspaper that “people’s aspirations are focused on improving standards of living and the housing issue. They didn’t sense any important accomplishments from the previous Parliament in these matters”.
Bufursan has emphasized the importance of support for agriculture and fishing. He complained that fishermen in the Busaiteen area lacked any kind of support, during comments to Al-Ayam.
Ahmed Abdullah Yousif Aqqab
Aqqab submitted his registration at the last minute after withdrawing his application to contest as a municipal councilor and deciding to contest for Parliament. He stressed the importance of close ties with the local people and cited priority issues such as standards of living, wages, corruption and housing. Aqqab called for greater investment in sports.
Dr. Ahmed Yousif Abdulrahman Abdullah al-Obaidli
Dr Al-Obaidli – a human resources consultant – says he will prioritize educational issues. He advocates establishing institutes for vocational education and a general educational strategy for improving standards across Bahrain’s teaching institutions.
Thani Atiq Thani Rashidan
Rashidan stressed the need for greater attention given to Bahrain’s democratic reputation around the world, which he said would require close cooperation between the elected deputies.
Dr. Mohammed Rafiq Qari Mohammed Saeed al-Hussaini
Al-Hussaini is a local cleric. He is campaigning alongside the municipal candidate Mohammed al-Mudhhiki.
Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah Hassan Ashir
Campaign slogan: “Serving you can be safely borne upon my shoulders”.
Yahya Ali Abbas Ali al-Majdami
Al-Majdami was defeated by Al-Moawadah in 2006, gaining just 382 votes (Al-Moawadah got 1506).
Mohammed Abdullah Jassim Mubarak al-Qalalif
2nd Muharraq
(Muharraq central)
Registered voters: 7,563
Salim Rajab Zayid Omar – NUG
Rajab argues that his National Unity Gathering list – which has never held parliamentary seats before – should be given a chance by the public. He said that other political societies had failed to capitalize on their parliamentary seats to improve the lives of citizens.
Abdulrahman Duaij Khalifa Saleh Bin-Zaiman
Former headmaster Bin-Zaiman says he decided to compete after the withdrawal of the prominent candidate Ali Ahmed. He cites a particular interest in fighting corruption. It appears that Bin-Zaiman, a member of Al-Mithaq, had been touted to compete on a list as part of the Al-Fateh Coalition. However, he eventually registered as an independent.
Wahid Rashid Jassim al-Dossary
Al-Dosary is a prominent cleric in his local Muharraq community. He recently chaired a seminar warning of the dangers of rumor-mongering during the election period. Al-Dossary has also recently been outspoken in condemning “terrorist attacks against government schools”. Al-Dossary stressed the importance of greater efforts by the authorities to crack down on “terrorism”. Al-Dossary is the honorary president of the Fishermen’s Society. Wahid contested the elections and gained 499 votes in a crowded field with 11 contestants. He was comfortably beaten by Mahmoud al-Mahmoud in 2010, with Al-Dossary gaining 875 votes.
Khalid Hashim Sulayman al-Jassim al-Hashim
Al-Hashim says that he has promised local people that he will do all he can to promote reforms. Among his priorities, he mentioned housing, unemployment, care for children and the elderly and setting up facilities for young people. His candidacy slogan is “efforts, not promises”.
Abdulmunim Mohammed Abdullah al-Eid
Al-Eid says that he seeks a parliamentary role in order to help “promote Bahrain in all areas”, based on our “religious and national principles”. He has singled out the improvement of living standards and the housing crisis as among his priorities.
Al-Eid wants to work for a more unified Bahrain and noted his support for the Gulf Union proposal.
Ibrahim Jumah Ali Mohammed al-Hamadi
Ahmed Hamed Rashid Hamed al-Jowder
Khalid Ahmed Hamad Ali Bu-Jiri
Mohammed Abdulaziz Mohammed Khalifa al-Buainain
3rd Muharraq
(Muharraq central, Qalali)
Registered voters: 7,563
Ahmed Sanad Khalifa Al Binali – Al-Wasat Secretary-General
Ahmed Al Binali caused controversy when he “froze” membership of his society, Al-Wasat, to the Al-Fateh Coalition during the negotiations to try and adopt a unified list. Al Binali says that his society “aspires for the middle-ground and places the responsibility on the Bahraini citizen for choosing the best candidate, based on moderation”.
Al Binali noted that Al-Wasat’s relations with other members of the Al-Fateh Coalition remained strong; pointing out that Al-Fateh had not included an additional candidate to stand against him in 3rd Muharraq (Al-Asalah remains outside Al-Fateh). Al Binali told journalists he believed that he had a 50% chance of winning the vote. He has also warned about the phenomenon of “buying votes”.
Al Binali came third place in 2006, with 721 votes.
Abdulnasir Yousif Abdullah al-Mahmeed – Asalah
Al-Mahmeed – who represents the Salafi Asalah Society – has served for two terms as a Muharraq municipal councilor. For the second term he was the head of the Municipal Council.
Al-Mahmeed has made housing his priority issue and is calling for an increase in the budget for construction, to increase the number of houses built through Government programmes to 7,000 per year.
Jamal Jassim Ali Buhassan
Buhassan in comments to Al-Ayam noted the poor performance of political societies in previous rounds of elections, stating his hope that he would perform well among other independents. Buhassan gained 667 votes in 2010, his Minbar opponent Ali Ahmed beat him with 983.
Mohammed Abdullah Ibrahim Jassim al-Mutawwa
Al-Mutawwa – a municipal councilor for eight years – went to court after the constituency boundary changes were announced, with the intention of changing his address to the 1st Muharraq district. However, the court refused his petition, so he has been compelled to compete in 3rd Muharraq. This was the result of two housing blocs where Al-Mutawwa resides (227, 223) being transferred from 1st Muharraq to 3rd Muharraq as part of the constituency boundary changes.
Al-Mutawwa: “I observed shortcomings in the legislative process and also in the oversight of this work. Both processes require expertise and attention and greater public participation in issues which concern them”.
Al-Mutawwa: “I adopted the slogan ‘together’ (ma’an) for my campaign… we are participants in the whole process. The deputy and the voter are joined by a shared purpose”.
Al-Mutawwa has called for changing the 1976 housing law which he said would “solve the problem” because he said the housing crisis was a matter of “decisions not distribution, the land is there and the Khaleeji support is there”.
Mohammed Abdulhussain Hamad Murad
Businessman Murad stressed his commitment to encouraging greater public participation to encourage reform and progress, while avoiding sectarian divisions. In comments to Al-Watan, Murad emphasized the importance of strengthening public awareness about the role of parliamentary deputies, particularly in the area of drafting legislation and oversight of the work of government.
Adel Saleh Ahmed Bu-Anq
Bu-Anq said Parliament should be a “mixture” between deputies representing the youth and those with greater experience. Bu-Anq listed his priorities as: “Involving the private sector in providing government services, implementing an effective mechanism for dealing with crises and disasters, improving the social situation of Bahrainis…”
Mohammed Mahmoud Ahmed Mohammed Ahmedi
Ahmedi has called for additional support for newly married couples and efforts to renovate houses in danger of collapse. He said that the issues he tackled were associated with his central aim of improving standards of living.
Yusuf Abdullah Ibrahim Khalifa al-Awadhi
Campaign slogan: “We don’t promise that we will achieve the impossible, but we desire to achieve a lot”.
Abdallah Mohammed Abdullah Saad
Abdulrahman Abdullah Ali Qassim Fakhro
4th Muharraq
(Muharraq central)
Registered voters: 7,904
Isa Abduljabbar Mahmoud al-Kooheji – Incumbent
Al-Kooheji: “The political confrontation in its entirety should be brought into the Parliament, in order to represent the voice of the people in the correct manner.”
Al-Kooheji stressed that the role of independents had been clearly proven in past parliamentary performance.
Abdullah Ali Ibrahim al-Aynati – NUG
Ambassador Al-Aynati will compete on the National Unity Gathering list. Al-Aynati said his campaign would prioritize “housing, education and infrastructure”. He told Al-Watan newspaper that he had entered the campaign because of his concern about the challenges the region was facing.
Al-Aynati’s campaign has focused on “justice” and a “fair distribution of wealth and capabilities”.
Al-Aynati said he felt that he had skills and experience to contribute based on his long service in the diplomatic corps and his political background.
*Rima Hassan Halal Khalid Halal
Rima told the media that she will prioritize “improving standards of living, the youth and those with special needs, including widows, orphans and the elderly”. She also said that she wanted to work on improving standards of education.
Rima’s promotional material highlights her role in providing training and mentoring to encourage the role of women in the political process. Campaign slogan: “Let’s develop… in order to progress”.
Majid Mohammed Jassim al-Atawi
Al-Atawi comes from a legal and human rights background. He says that services and housing provision should also expand to the middle-classes. He pledged to use his legal experience for addressing shortcomings in the existing housing legislation.
Al-Atawi has promised to put together a local “administrative council” to serve the needs of his constituency. He noted his 12 years of legal experience and his civil society background in human rights and legal issues as qualifying him for a Parliamentary role.
Mohammed Abduljalil Jaffar al-Murbati
Al-Murbati claimed that since 2006 electoral contests had gone backwards because of the misuse of political funds. He complained about other contestants giving away gifts like air conditioners to potential voters. He stressed the need for more careful elections monitoring. Al-Murbati was soundly defeated by Al-Kooheji in 2010, with Al-Murbati only gaining 109 votes.
Mohammed Abdulnabi Qorban Ali Khayami
Khayami simply told journalists that his campaign platform was the same as the one he’d put forward in 2010, but promised to “wipe out” his rival candidates. He scored a respectable 710 votes in 2010, less than half of that of winning candidate Mahmoud al-Mahmoud.
Hamad Abdullah Hamad al-Mearaj
Campaign slogan: “Your demands are my goal”. Al-Mearaj and many others, such as Muhammed al-Jowder in 5th Muharraq have received threatening messages from the “14th February” movement threatening
attacks on their property.