Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MANAMA2069
2006-12-26 07:52:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:  

SENATOR NELSON DISCUSSES ELECTIONS, IRAQ WITH

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM OREP BA BILAT HUMRIT POL 
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6223
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 002069 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

H PASS FOR SENATOR NELSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM OREP BA BILAT HUMRIT POL
SUBJECT: SENATOR NELSON DISCUSSES ELECTIONS, IRAQ WITH
PARLIAMENTARIANS, ELECTION OBSERVERS

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 002069

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

H PASS FOR SENATOR NELSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM OREP BA BILAT HUMRIT POL
SUBJECT: SENATOR NELSON DISCUSSES ELECTIONS, IRAQ WITH
PARLIAMENTARIANS, ELECTION OBSERVERS

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) Senator Nelson December 18 met with members of both
chambers of Bahrain's parliament and later with
representatives of three non-governmental organizations
involved in observation of the recent parliamentary and
municipal elections. Al Asala (Salafi) political society
member Isa Abul Fateh expressed his sadness over the
increasing sectarian problems in the region, blaming the U.S.
for the rise in sectarian violence in Iraq. COR member Dr.
Jasim Hussein from leading Shia political society Al Wifaq
encouraged U.S. engagement with all countries of the region,
including Syria and Iran. On Bahrain's democratic progress,
Shura Council member Jamal Fakhro spoke in favor of the
cautious steps the King and GOB were taking toward political
openness. Regarding election observation, NGO
representatives said that the voting process was largely free
and fair, but problems included campaign violations,
allegations of pressure on military personnel by their
leadership to vote for designated candidates, and lack of
transparency at general polling stations. End Summary.


2. (C) Over lunch December 18, Senator Nelson (D-FL)
discussed, among other issues, U.S. challenges in Iraq with
parliamentary members of both Bahrain's elected body, the
Council of Representatives (COR),and its appointed body, the
Shura Council. Referring to the Iraq Study Group report's
recommendation that the U.S. engage with Syria, Senator
Nelson explained that the two purposes of his trip to the
region were to explore the idea of opening a dialogue with
Syria and to listen to regional interlocutors talk about
their concerns over the situation in Iraq. On the former,
Senator Nelson said that in their meeting, he and President
al-Asad had found no common ground on issues related to
Lebanon and Hizbullah, Iran, or the Israel-Palestinian
conflict and Hamas. He said that he saw only one area of

possible cooperation; the Syrians might be willing to move on
tightening the Syrian-Iraqi border.

--------------
Concern About Iraqi Sectarian Violence
--------------


3. (C) COR incumbent and Al Asala member Isa Abul Fateh
expressed his suspicion that the sharp increase in sectarian
problems in Iraq was a sign of a hidden agenda, although he
did not elaborate. Referring to Iranian influence in
Bahrain, he said that up until the Iranian revolution,
Bahrainis did not talk of differences between Sunnis and
Shias, but the revolution influenced the Shia population in
Bahrain, thereby increasing sectarian divisions. He blamed
the U.S. intervention in Iraq for the sectarian problems
there. Most important in the future, he said, was for both
the U.S. and Iran to leave Iraq and be prevented from
interfering any more in Iraq's internal affairs. Due to the
"shrinking" of our world, the interference of any country in
the affairs of another causes problems that are felt not only
locally, but also regionally and around the world. In the
short term, however, he worried that an immediate and abrupt
U.S. pull-out would spark a civil war that would spread first
to Syria and Jordan, then to the Gulf and beyond.


4. (C) Independent COR member Latifa Al Qa'oud, who is the
sole woman in the COR, stated that even Iraqis she had talked
with were shocked by the level of violence in Iraq. Al
Qa'oud expressed surprise that the U.S. did not have an
adequate plan for Iraq after the invasion. Senator Nelson
pointed out that though there were plans, there were mistakes
made, one of the foremost being the dissolution of the Iraqi
military. Newly-elected COR member Dr. Jasim Hussein, member
of leading Shia political society Al Wifaq, encouraged
increased U.S. engagement with all countries in the region,
including both Syria and Iran.

--------------
Democratic Reform, Slow But Sure
--------------


5. (C) Moving to the subject of Bahrain's democratic
progress, Senator Nelson asked about the strength of
parliament's legislative power. Newly elected first
vice-chair and long-term member of the Shura Council and KPMG
Managing Partner Jamal Fakhro described the evolution of the

MANAMA 00002069 002 OF 003


Shura Council during his tenure, saying that the council used
to have an entirely advisory role with the government.
However, since the parliamentary elections in 2002 and the
formation of the COR, the Shura has become more of a
legislative body that reviews and votes on legislation and
can call cabinet ministers for questioning on government
policy. Fakhro made note of the Political Societies Law of
2005, calling it a step forward to encourage the populace to
participate more actively in the political process, putting
Bahrain a step ahead of its neighbors. He spoke in favor of
the measured steps the King and the government were taking
toward increasing levels of political empowerment of the
people.


6. (C) Abul Fateh agreed with Fakhro on this last point,
saying that if the government pushes democratic change too
fast without keeping the country balanced and stable, it may
collapse. Abul Fateh recognized that the COR has limited
power as a legislature, but he advocated gradual
liberalization, allowing time to evaluate the new changes
before deciding on further steps. Referring to the
opposition, he said that some political societies want to
push sensitive political issues too quickly, and this could
affect the stability of the nation.


7. (C) Responding to a question from Senator Nelson about
the conduct of the Bahraini elections, Hussein said that
there had been some problems, including the use of ten
general polling stations that were open for voters of any of
Bahrain's 40 districts. He said that the centers were
vulnerable to abuse and had lacked transparency in their
counting of votes. Senator Nelson asked about campaign costs
and campaign finance in Bahrain, stating for comparison that
his recent reelection campaign had cost approximately $18
million, two-thirds of which was used for television time,
and that in the U.S. individuals could donate no more than
$3,400 to a single candidate. Hussein said that his campaign
had cost $25,000 from his personal savings and that he had
not received any direct contributions from constituents. He
said that Al Wifaq had provided the equivalent of
approximately $25,000 of in-kind contributions to his
campaign. Hussein commented that campaign finance was an
issue the new parliament should address.

--------------
Election Observers Share Their Experiences
--------------


8. (C) In a separate meeting December 18, Senator Nelson met
with representatives of three civil society groups that were
involved in observing the Bahraini elections: Dr. Jasim Al
Ajmi, president of Bahrain Transparency Society and organizer
of the Election Monitoring Joint Committee (EMJC);
newly-appointed Shura Council member Houda Nonoo, president
of Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society; and Nizar Al Qari,
vice president of the Bahrain Society for Public Freedom and
Democracy. Al Ajmi said that the process of polling itself
was largely free and fair and that although there were
irregularities, they were relatively minor. However, outside
the polling stations there were campaign violations,
including using mosques and clerics to campaign for some
candidates and smear others, and campaigns continued into the
24-hour period before the polls opened and into election day.
In addition, Al Ajmi said there had been several allegations
of pressure put on rank-and-file military personnel to vote
for candidates identified by their superiors, but there was a
lack of hard evidence to prove this had taken place.


9. (C) Nonoo described her experience as an observer at the
Bahrain International Airport general polling station. She
said that the movement of observers within the polling
station was restricted, and observers were not allowed to sit
close to the counting tables while votes were tallied. She
said many elderly voters, through their interactions with
election officials, had indicated that they had been told who
to vote for before entering the station. These voters did
not recognize pictures of the candidates and had merely been
told the name of the candidate for whom to vote. Al Ajmi
confirmed that his group had received calls from observers
and voters from many stations describing similar situations.
He also noted that EMJC had received complaints about judges
marking the wrong candidate for voters who had asked for
assistance, and that some elderly voters could not understand
the accent of some of the judges as many judges in Bahrain
are non-Bahraini Arabs.


10. (C) Al Qari agreed that in general the process was
positive, but noted that in his estimation, there had been a

MANAMA 00002069 003 OF 003


serious problem with the ten public polling stations. He
said that judicial officials at several of the stations did
not announce the tallies at the end of counting so that the
results could later be verified by the independent observers.
Al Qari said that he had visited several polling stations
and found that the level of responsiveness of the judge at
each station varied widely. Some, when requested to allow
the observers more freedom of movement within the station,
were more flexible and listened to requests while others made
no effort to grant observers wider movement.


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