ELECTION HIGHLIGHTS NO. 2: KING AND CLERICS MEET,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001785 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM BA POL SUBJECT: ELECTION HIGHLIGHTS NO. 2: KING AND CLERICS MEET, CANDIDATES REGISTER REF: A. MANAMA 1756 ¶B. MANAMA 1728 Classified By: CDA Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) KING HAMAD MEETS WITH SHI'A CLERICS: King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa met October 8 with members of the Islamic Scholars Council (Shi'a),made up of many of Bahrain's most influential Shi'a clerics, to discuss issues of concern, including the elections. King Hamad reportedly reassured the clerics that the government will guard against attempts to influence the elections. Following the meeting, the council released a statement saying that "although many unjust provisions exist in the political process, we believe that the best action is to participate heavily in both the municipal and parliamentary elections." Vice chairman of the council Sayed Abdulla Al Ghuraifi reported that the King said he had suspended some of those individuals whose names were mentioned in the Al Bandar report (Ref B) from having a role in the elections process. He said that the King promised the clerics that the judiciary would investigate the Al Bandar case thoroughly and make the results public. Al Ghuraifi also confirmed that the council would meet with the King again soon to follow up on the issues discussed in the first meeting. ¶2. (SBU) CANDIDATE REGISTRATION: Official registration for prospective candidates for parliamentary elections began October 12 and will extend through October 16. Similarly, candidates for municipal council elections will register between October 20 and 24. The Executive Committee for the elections has set up one registration center in each of Bahrain's five governorates and will collect registration packages along with the 200 Bahraini Dinar ($530) registration fee. (Note: Similar centers in each governorate were set up for one week in September to enable voters to verify their personal information on the voter rolls. End note.) A candidate for parliament must be Bahraini, at least 30 years of age, and have his or her name listed on the voter rolls for the district in which s/he is running. ¶3. (SBU) MONITORING: Developments in election monitoring will be addressed septel. ¶4. (SBU) BANDARGATE: The editors of six newspapers sent a joint letter to the High Criminal Court following its October 4 decision banning reporting on the Al Bandar case investigation. The letter appealed to the court to reconsider its decision, saying that the ban will "prompt other media sources, including the foreign media, to look for information from irresponsible and biased sources." On October 10 the court provided a written response saying that the decision was made to protect court procedures, and although it might be reviewed later, for now it will stand. ¶5. (SBU) SUNNIS COORDINATE: Al Asala (Salafi) and Al Minbar (Muslim Brotherhood) political societies announced a plan of mutual cooperation and support October 10 saying that they would present a unified candidates list. They pledged to join forces in 12 districts supporting each others' candidates and said that the two societies' candidates would directly compete against each other in only one district in Muharraq Governorate. Al Asala president and Council of Representatives (COR) member Ghanem Al Buainain said in a press interview that the societies will sign a memorandum of understanding and form a six-member committee both to monitor the implementation of the agreement and to prevent any violations. The societies specified that they would not form a unified campaign platform nor would they share financial resources. (Note: The two societies currently have 12 members in the COR. End note.) ¶6. (SBU) CANDIDATE LISTS: Seven political societies have publicly announced their slates of candidates. Leading the way was Shi'a opposition political society Al Wifaq announcing 16 candidates on October 5 and three more on October 10. Al Wifaq president Shaikh Ali Salman also announced that the society would actively support three other candidates who are not running under the Al Wifaq banner. The following day, the National Progressive Tribune Society, which currently has three members in the COR, revealed its slate of nine candidates. Next, liberal, secular Wa'ad society declared five candidates with two additional candidates to be added at a later date. On October 11 both Al Asala, which currently has five COR members, and Al Minbar, with seven in the COR, announced their six and eight candidates, respectively. National Charter Society (Al Meethaq) also announced its 7 candidates. Finally, newcomer to the political scene Al Ikha' (National Brotherhood),made MANAMA 00001785 002 OF 002 up of Bahrainis of Iranian origin, announced that it would field two candidates and support two additional candidates from the (also new) Free Thought Society. ¶7. (SBU) AL WIFAQ'S CLERICS: Al Wifaq's list of 19 candidates for the parliamentary elections includes six clerics. Shaikh Ali, who regularly delivers Friday sermons, said October 6 that his last sermon prior to the election would be October 13. Ministry of Islamic Affairs regulations prohibit candidates from delivering Friday sermons during the election campaign season. ¶8. (C) WOMEN CANDIDATES: Discussing Al Wifaq's slate and the lack of women, Al Wifaq Shura Council chairman Dr. Abdali Mohamed Hassan stated for the press that Al Wifaq had been supporting the candidacy of Sakina Al Ekri, from the Al Wifaq general secretariat, but that she had dropped her candidacy when her request to change her residency district was denied. Dr. Hassan did reaffirm, however, that Al Wifaq would openly support Wa'ad society candidate and University of Bahrain professor Dr. Munira Fakhro. Latifa Al Qo'ud, who forced a run off in the second round with independent Salafi Jasim Al Saeedi in the 2002 elections, was permitted to change her residency to district six of the Southern Governorate, one of the least populated election districts in Bahrain. A list obtained by Poloff from the Supreme Council for Women's (SCW) election program listed 19 women candidates for the parliamentary elections and four for the municipal council elections. SCW announced October 10 that the UNDP had provided 50,000 BD ($133,000) for technical support for women candidates. ¶9. (SBU) NATURALIZED BAHRAINIS: Member of the High Commission for Elections Abdul Rahman Al Sayed announced October 8 that all naturalized Bahrainis are welcome to participate in the upcoming elections. The 1963 Nationality Law stipulates that naturalized citizens must wait ten years before being permitted to vote or run in elections. However, Al Sayed declared that the 2002 Political Rights Law supersedes the earlier legislation and therefore nullifies the relevant article. Many political societies protested the decision, accusing the GOB of using newly naturalized citizens to influence the outcome of individual election races. The following day Al Sayed said that any citizen who was naturalized after the voter lists were announced would not be eligible to vote in this year's election, but he did not address legal arguments against waiving the ten-year waiting period. ¶10. (SBU) VOTER APATHY, EXPECTATIONS: Arabic daily Akhbar Al Khaleej conducted an election survey of 400 randomly-selected individuals, approximately two-thirds of whom were male, one-third female. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they did not intend to vote in the elections. Eighty percent believe that Islamists will win the majority of seats in the next parliament. ¶11. (C) COMMENT: King Hamad's meeting with members of the Islamic Scholars Council was a significant event in restoring some public confidence in the election process for the Shi'a community. The King's assurances were warmly welcomed and resulted in the statement from the council encouraging "heavy" participation. The matter is not over however, and the council will hold the King to his word to deliver on his promises regarding Bandargate. With the start of candidate registration and the announcements of political society slates, the field is becoming more defined, the months of speculation coming to an end. All sides are gearing up for what promises to be an exciting electoral season. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** ZIADEH