Bahrainis express disappointment at 'toothless' parliament as polls start

Members of Bahrain’s Sunni community have expressed disappointment and apathy toward the country's vote on Saturday, complaining of a “toothless” parliament that has no ability to affect real change in the divided Gulf State.

With the country’s Shiite-led opposition boycotting – calling the vote useless – it will be largely left to the Sunni community to select 40 parliamentary and 30 municipal representatives out of over 400 standing candidates.

Citizens will choose who represents them in the lower house of parliament, with the upper house already filled by 40 appointees made by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. The two chambers are known collectively as the National Assembly and the upper house has the power to overrule the lower house on legislative matters.

Elections were restarted in 2002 after a hiatus of nearly 30 years, but the outcome has been disappointment at a lack of legislative authority for the people’s elected representatives, exacerbated since 2011 by an ongoing political crisis that has seen a pro-democracy uprising brutally put down by authorities.

“There is general disappointment at the past performance of the parliament and its ability to affect real changes,” said Suad Almualla, an assistant professor of information system ethics at the University of Bahrain. “So many people, including myself, wonder what the point is in voting.”

Despite feeling disillusioned with the lack parliamentary clout Almualla said she will still vote and does not support the February 14 opposition movement that has led street protests in Bahrain for the past three years.

“I think I will eventually go and take part because a parliament is the only proper and civil way to affect change. I don’t believe in anarchism and don’t believe in protesting unless it is really peaceful,” she said.

Frustration with how parliament has functioned appears a growing issue among Sunni Bahrainis, viewed largely as sympathetic toward the monarchy, and many desire for MPs to have more legislative clout.

“The parliament we have today is a toothless one,” said Yaqoob Slais, a member of the Fateh youth coalition, which supports political and judicial reform in Bahrain but supports the monarchy staying in power. “More power needs to be given to the parliament when it comes to legislating law and monitoring the government’s work.”

Yaqoob, however, said his movement does not support a wholly elected government in Bahrain at the moment, explaining “there are a lot of fears – especially in the Sunni community – that we would end up with a Shiite majority in power.”

“This would be catastrophic. Sunnis do not want to see a repetition of what is happening in Iraq – where you had Maliki holding power and executing a sectarian agenda,” he said.

Bahrain’s pro-democracy movement, led by the Shiite community, protests on a daily basis for democratic reforms and many call for the removal of the al-Khalifa monarchy. The movement has consistently dismissed allegations of exclusively promoting Shiite rights and has insisted their aim is for all Bahrainis to be able to freely choose their own leaders.

The Shiite community has long complained of government discrimination – backed up by reports from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International – but youth activist Slais said there are problems all Bahrainis face together.

“There are some grounds for the Shiite community to feel specifically discriminated against but Bahrainis as a whole do face the same problems. It’s not purely a Shiite problem, especially when it comes to socio-economic issues,” he said.

“For housing, jobs and better representation in parliament we all share those problems.”

Tens of thousands of people are on waiting lists for government housing and youth employment remains high at around 20 percent.

Despite an inability for parliament to address the issues faced by Bahrainis – and as thousands of the country’s majority Shiite community are on the streets everyday protesting – there remains a strong and public voice for those who are urging people to take part in Saturday’s vote.

“I believe we need to be part of the decision-making process and this election is a privilege given to us,” said Mohamed al-Sayed, member of Citizens for Bahrain – a self-styled group of “moderate” Bahrainis who believe in “reform, not revolution”.

“If we want democracy then we should put it to the test.”

Sayed said viewing the parliament as a failure is “wrong” and he praised it for having had some unknown successes.

“The parliament has accomplished useful things on the local level – including passing family law legislation regulating divorce and marriage proceedings. Unfortunately this was not approved for both sects but there have been other successes in passing laws regulating traffic,” he said.

“People might not see these laws as important but they are. The failure was in not communicating these successes.”

There remain, however, strident critics of the parliament among the Sunni community.

Sami Aziz is a labour leader and was sacked from his job with Yokogawa Global – a Japanese electronics firm – in March 2013 after a protracted disagreement over his role in calling for increased workers’ rights in Bahrain.

“Trade unionists in Bahrain are considered anti-government. In 2011 the General Federation of Workers Trade Union called for a strike and that led to them being blacklists by all government authorities,” he said.

Aziz said his sacking was the result of big business being able to influence Bahraini authorities, an issue, he said, MPs would never dare raise in parliament.

“These people who will be MPs would never raise labour issues or corruption in the parliament. They would consider it to be speaking in a way the government does not like.”

“You are either with the government or against them. There is no room for different opinions – that’s why this election is meaningless.”

The inability for parliament to impact the key issues has resulted in a split among the Sunni community, who have provided a buffer of support for the government since the 2011 uprising erupted.

“Naturally there is a large section of Sunnis who believe voting in the election is a patriotic act, a national duty,” said youth activist Yaqoob Slais. “But at the same time there is a lot of disappointment over the parliament’s performance.”

“A large section of the Sunni community are saying: ‘Why bother voting? We’ll just end up with another toothless parliament.’”

Slais also called into question the quality of candidates in the elections, explaining the political discourse has been severely limited in its scope.

“The majority of candidates think campaigning means printing big billboards and opening an Instagram account,” he said. “The manifestos have included a lot of impossible to deliver promises – candidates have said they will make sure everyone will get a house and a good job.”

With a yearly salary of $150,000 on offer for MPs – and benefits including a generous pension plan and a luxury car – some commentators have argued the appeal for candidates has been less political representation and more financial incentive.

It is unclear how much voter apathy, and a large opposition boycott, will impact election turnout as no polls have been carried out in the country.

The government, however, has done their best to get as many people as possible to turn out and vote. Reports have emerged of authorities offering voters a chance to win an Apple iPhone and seemingly threatened poorer access to government services for those who do not take part.

Voting takes place between 0800 [0500 GMT] and 1800 [1500 GMT] on Saturday, with results expected next week.