SHURA COUNCIL APPOINTED; TEN WOMEN, POLITICAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 002009 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PREL KISL KWMN BA POL SUBJECT: SHURA COUNCIL APPOINTED; TEN WOMEN, POLITICAL MODERATES, BUSINESS PEOPLE AMONG MEMBERS REF: MANAMA 2004 Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The King December 5 issued a decree appointing the 40 members of the upper house Shura Council. Twenty-three of the appointees are returning members while 17 are new to the Shura, although two of the newcomers previously served as deputies in the elected lower house Council of Representatives (COR). Ten women were appointed, four more than served in the previous Council, and one of the women, Dr. Bahiya Al Jishi, is rumored to be in line for election as the second deputy chair. The focus of the King's appointments was on moderates, centrists, and technocrats hailing from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds. According to an insider, the composition of the new Council was designed to balance the elected members of the COR, which has many Islamists and oppositionists. The politiciQs and political society members chosen are all moderates, with many from the government-friendly Al Meethaq society. The King also appointed some well-known business people who will bring their expertise to budgetary, economic, and financial matters. Although Shura Council members are fundamentally loyal to the Royal Family and government, they bring their diverse backgrounds and perspectives to bear on the range of issues before the Council, and the proceedings at times can become heated. End Summary. -------------- Diverse Group Appointed to Shura -------------- ¶2. (SBU) King Hamad December 5 issued Decree 28 for 2006 appointing the 40 members of Bahrain's upper house of parliament, the Shura Council. Members consist of 23 people reappointed from the outgoing Shura Council and 17 new members - 14 who are entirely new to parliament and two former deputies from the elected lower house COR. There are 20 Sunnis, 18 Shias, one Christian, and one Jew, and ten women received appointments, an increase of four over the previous Council. Two members of the ruling Al Khalifa family were selected. While no decisions have yet been made, outgoing Minister of Municipalities and Agriculture Ali Saleh Al Saleh (Shia) is expected to be elected chairman, and returning Shura members businessman Jamal Fakhro (Sunni) and women's rights activist Dr. Bahiya Al Jishi (Shia) are rumored to be in line for the first and second deputy chairs. ¶2. (C) The focus of the King's appointments was on political moderates, centrists, and technocrats. Following the precedent set in 2002, members hail from a wide range of backgrounds, including politics, human rights advocacy, engineering, poetry, business, law, the clergy, and journalism. Royal Court political advisor Abdullah Al Aali (Shia),one of the newly appointed members, told PolEcon Chief December 6 that one of his duties at the Court was to put together a list of possible Shia appointees to the Council. He noted that the members of the new Council were selected to balance the heavy representation of Islamists and oppositionists in the COR (reftel). In fact, none of the appointees are from the opposition (flying in the face of persistent rumors before the announcement that the King might ask a few oppositionists to join the Shura). Similarly, the Islamists that were chosen are widely regarded as being very close to the government and Royal Family, in contrast to the more extreme and activist Islamists in the COR. -------------- Focus on Women, Moderates, Business People -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The women Shura Council members are: Bahiya Al Jishi (returning member),Alice Samaan (returning member, Christian),Wedad Al Fadhel (returning member),Dr. Fawziya Al Saleh (returning member),Dalal Al Zayed (lawyer),Sameera Rajab (anti-American Baathist journalist),Muneera bin Hindi (advocate for the handicapped),Houda Nonoo (human rights organizer, Jewish),Rabab Al Arrayedh (lawyer),and Dr. Aisha Mubarak. Several of the women are involved in the activities of the Supreme Council for Women and a few have participated in MEPI women's pillar programs. ¶4. (SBU) In a nod to political centrists, the King appointed ten members of the Al Meethaq political society to the Shura. Named after the National Action Charter released by the King that initiated the political reform and reconciliation MANAMA 00002009 002 OF 002 process in Bahrain, Al Meethaq is a moderate non-sectarian group with Sunni and Shia members that is friendly to the government. Al Meethaq ran or supported seven candidates in the COR elections but none made it past the first round. (Note: Only one liberal won a seat in the COR, Sunni oppositionist Abdul Aziz Abul.) Apparently to compensate for this lack of electoral success, the King appointed several political moderates, including Abdul Rahman Jamsheer, Ahmed Behzad, and Jihad Bukamal. ¶5. (SBU) Likely in recognition of the dearth of COR members with economic backgrounds, the Shura appointees include many prominent business people. Khalid Al Moayyed and Essam Jenahi are two of the country's most successful business leaders and Jamal Fakhro, Abdul Rahman Jamsheer, Abdul Rahman Jawahiri, and Jihad Bukamal all run Qsinesses. The government will be able to count on this group to thoroughly vet and understand budgetary, economic, and financial legislative initiatives. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Under the 2002 constitution, the Shura Council has powers equal to those of the Council of Representatives. Because each of the members has been personally selected and appointed by the King, they will at a fundamental level remain loyal to the Royal Family and government. But they also bring a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives to bear on issues before the Council and proceedings have become heated at times. In choosing an unprecedented number of women along with political moderates, business people, and technocrats as members, the King has assembled a Shura Council that is in many ways the polar opposite of the almost entirely male, mostly Islamist COR. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** MONROE