Bahraini general election, 2010
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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 ...
in October 2010 to elect the forty members of the Council of Representatives. The first round of voting was held on 23 October, with a second round on 30 October. Amidst boycotts and arrests,
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 co ...
won 18 of the 40 seats. Four women were elected.


Campaign

The main opposition party Haq Movement and several other opposition parties such as the Al-Wafa Islamic Movement, Bahrain Freedom Movement, Khalas Movement and
Islamic Action Society The Islamic Action Society ( ar, جمعية العمل الإسلامي ''Jamʿīyah al-ʿAmal al-ʾIslāmī''), sometimes shortened to ʿAmal ( ar, أمل), was one of the main Islamist political parties in Bahrain, and mainly appealed to Shī ...
called for a boycott of the elections, on the grounds that participation would be "tantamount to accepting the unjust sectarian apartheid system." There were also further arrests and repressions of the
Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...
majority. Shia political activists and international
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
watchdogs warned of a "drift back to full-blown authoritarianism." However, Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa claimed the arrests were "not linked to elections." Amnesty International,
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 ...
and the Project on Middle East Democracy noted government arrests and repressions ahead of the election. The head of the Al Wefaq party, Ali Salman, said the government should be shared with the people, in what was seen as an open challenge to the ruling Al-Khalifa dynasty. "It is unacceptable that power be monopolised by a single family, even one to which we owe respect and consideration. We look forward to the day when any child of the people, be they Sunni or Shia, can become prime minister."Bahrainis Vote for New Parliament amid Political Tensions
Al-Manar, 23 October 2010


Conduct

A total of 292 Bahraini observers from non-governmental organizations monitored the elections, though foreign observers were not allowed. Allegations were made of problems on election day; Al Wefaq's Sheikh Ali Salman claimed at least 890 voters were not allowed to vote in mostly Shia districts because their names were absent from electoral lists. "This is not the full number. We expect it to be higher." The party tallied up the voters who said there were not allowed to vote, in order to use these numbers to challenge to the official results. The opposition also expressed concern that the authorities used the votes of
military personnel Military personnel are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, air force, space force, and coast guard), rank (officer, non-commissioned officer, or ...
in favour of some candidates at the expense of others in an "exploitation of general positions."


Results

More than 318,000 were eligible to vote.Parliament polls close in Bahrain
Al Jazeera, 23 October 2010
Head of the electoral commission and Justice Minister, Sheikh Khaled bin Ali al-Khalifa, gave an estimate of turnout of "at least 67 percent," less than the 72% in 2006 and 53.4% in 2002. 127 candidates stood in the election. Al Wefaq won 18 of the 40 seats, one more than the previous election.Bahrain's Opposition INAA Wins 18 Seats in Parliament
Al-Manar, 24 October 2010
Shia and independent candidates won a majority of seats for the first time.


Winning candidate by constituency


Reactions

Shia cleric and MP Sheikh Ali Salman lauded the result and called for a "more positive" stance from the government. "The most important message for the government is that Al Wefaq (INAA) is the largest political association in Bahrain. The people's will must be respected and dealt with positively."


Analysis

A local analyst, Obaidaly al-Obaidaly, said the press campaign that accompanied the arrests resulted in a favourable outcome for Al Wefaq. "The Shiites who were hesitant or intended to boycott the elections voted overwhelmingly in favour of Al Wefaq, the representative of their community. Baqer al-Najar, a sociology professor at the
University of Bahrain The University of Bahrain ( ar, جامعة البحرين , informally Bahrain University, abbreviated as UOB) is the largest public university in the Kingdom of Bahrain with campuses in Sakhir, Isa Town and Manama, the university has more than ...
also said "The way the media handled the security situation which prevailed prior to the elections unexpectedly raised Al Wefaq's shares. Shiites felt that they were targeted so they voted intensely for Al Wefaq despite their restlessness with its performance throughout the past four years."


Aftermath

Following the 2011 Bahraini protests, all 18 Al Wefaq MPs resigned from parliament.Bahraini woman dies 'during protest'
Al Jazeera, 16 July 2011


References

{{Bahraini elections Elections in Bahrain
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 ...
General elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
National Assembly (Bahrain) Election and referendum articles with incomplete results