General elections were held in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

on 12 November 2022 to elect the 40 members of the

Council of Representatives The Council of Representatives (''Majlis an-nuwab''), sometimes translated as the "Chamber of Deputies", is the name given to the lower house of the Bahraini National Assembly, the national legislative body of Bahrain. The council was created ...

, with a second round in some constituencies on 19 November. The elections were condemned domestically and internationally as a sham. Rights groups condemned the atmosphere of "political repression". The

Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) is a non-profit human rights organisation based in London which promotes democratisation and human rights in Bahrain. It was founded by Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Alaa Shehabi and Hussain Abdullah ...

, based in London, called it a "sham", and

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

stated that the elections were "held in an environment of political repression following a decade in which the authorities have infringed upon human rights, curtailed civil society, banned political opposition parties and shuttered independent media". They issued a report on the elections, "Bahrain: Elections, But No Civic Space" in which they stated that Bahrain's political system did not, in practice, allow citizens to peacefully and legally seek constitutional change. Domestically, there were advance calls for a boycott of the elections as in the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. On election day hackers took down government websites, including the elections, parliamentary and state-news websites. A group calling itself "al-Touafan" ("the Flood") claimed responsibility for at least some of the attacks, saying they were "due to the persecution carried out by the Bahraini authorities, and in implementation of the popular will to boycott the sham elections".

Electoral system

The 40 members of the

are elected from single-member constituencies using the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round is held.Electoral system
IPU Under the 2002 constitution, the Council is the lower house of parliament, which examines and passes legislation proposed by the king and the king's appointed cabinet; the upper chamber, the Consultative Council, is appointed by the king and can block legislation passed by the lower house. Only Bahraini citizens are entitled to contest and vote in the elections. Many political dissidents active in previous elections were stripped of their Bahraini citizenship. Citizens could also be disqualified from voting if they had been members of opposition parties and groups that the government had banned, if they had previously resigned from parliament, or if they had been sentenced to more than six months in prison. Many had been sentenced to terms more than six months for non-violent participation in the

2011 protests Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

(the government estimates that over 300 protestors had been sentence to more than one year). Voters who had not voted in previous elections were not included on the voter lists, but were eligible to register. These rules disenfranchised 21.5% of Bahraini citizens, a higher proportion than in the 2018 elections; in 2022 344,713 voters were eligible, down from 365,467 in 2018. However, the electorate was less than a quarter of the population of 1.5 million, as most residents do not have citizenship.

Candidates

A total of 330 candidates contested the elections, of which 73 were women, an increase from 293 candidates in 2018. Former members of Wa'd,

al-Wefaq Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية الوفاق الوطني الإسلامية; ), sometimes shortened to simply Al-Wefaq, was a Shi'a Bahraini political party, that operates clandestinely after being ordered by the highest cou ...

, and

Amal Amal may refer to: * Amal (given name) * Åmål, a small town in Sweden * Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party ** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia * Amal language of Papua New Guinea * Amal (film), ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed ...

, formerly-legal opposition parties, were banned from standing for election, and from taking leadership positions in civil society organisations. This rule was estimated to affect 6,000-11,000 citizens according to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

Conduct

The government banned all false or confusing statements that could affect the election, and all unlicensed public gatherings, and demonstrations, with sentences of two years for violations. This included any "gathering in a public place, composed of at least five people, with the goal of... infringing on public order, even to achieve a legitimate purpose". Two months before the election, the government introduced new legislation that banned electoral activity that "infringes on public security or public morals or religious beliefs or the customs prevalent in society", or "infringing on the Islamic creed or the unity of the people, or that incites division or sectarianism between citizens". Bahrainis were also forbidden from "organizing and holding meetings and giving election speeches" in "houses of worship", "public places reserved for public services", any educational institution, and at "statues... and historic buildings". Amnesty International stated "These highly restrictive measures quash much of the scope for the exercise of the human rights to

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

, peaceful assembly,

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, and

public participation Public participation, also known as citizen participation or patient and public involvement, is the inclusion of the public in the activities of any organization or project. Public participation is similar to but more inclusive than stakeholder en ...

" in the election. No media critical of the government had been permitted in Bahrain since the government shut down the newspaper al-Wasat in June 2017. A demonstration calling for a boycott of the election was held in the town of

Sanabis Sanabis ( ar, سنابس ') is a village located in the Kingdom of Bahrain, in the suburbs of the capital city, Manama. Etymology The definition of the word ''Sanabis'' is disputed, with the most popular view being that members of the Sunbus trib ...

on 18 October. Protests agaist the election were also held during a visit by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

less than a week before the election. Hackers took down election-related government websites on election day. A group calling itself "al-Touafan" ("the Flood") claimed responsibility for at least some of the attacks, saying they were "due to the persecution carried out by the Bahraini authorities, and in implementation of the popular will to boycott the sham elections". Citing the non-democratic nature of the election, the US was urged to pivot away from its close relationship with Bahrain by the Baharani-American human rights group

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ameri ...

(ADHRB) On election day, a government spokesman, responding to criticisms of the process, described Bahrain as a "vibrant democracy".

Results

Six candidates, one of them female, were announced to have won seats in the first round; the remaining seats had to be contested in second-round runoff votes. The government reported that turnout among eligible voters was 73%, up from 67% in the 2018 election.

References

External links

September 2022 Bahraini government election activities restrictions
* {{Bahraini elections Elections in Bahrain

GEneral A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...