2010 Bahraini general election
Bahrain
23 October 2010 (first round)
30 October 2010 (second round)
All 40 seats in the Council of Representatives
PartyLeader Seats +/–
Al Wefaq Ali Salman 18 +1
Al Asalah Ghanim Al Buaneen 3 −2
Al-Menber Salah Ali 2 −5
Independents – 17 +6
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

General elections were held in Bahrain in October 2010 to elect the forty members of the Council of Representatives.[1] The first round of voting was held on 23 October, with a second round on 30 October.[2] Amidst boycotts and arrests, Al Wefaq won 18 of the 40 seats. Four women were elected.[3]

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 called for a boycott of the elections,[4] 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 majority. Shia political activists and international human rights 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."[5] Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch 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."[6]

Conduct

A total of 292 Bahraini observers from non-governmental organizations monitored the elections, though foreign observers were not allowed.[7]

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.[8] The opposition also expressed concern that the authorities used the votes of military personnel in favour of some candidates at the expense of others in an "exploitation of general positions."[6]

Results

More than 318,000 were eligible to vote.[7] 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.[5] 127 candidates stood in the election.

Al Wefaq won 18 of the 40 seats, one more than the previous election.[2] Shia and independent candidates won a majority of seats for the first time.

PartyFirst roundSecond roundTotal
seats		+/–
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Al Wefaq18018+1
Al Asalah213–2
Al-Menber Islamic Society022–5
Independents11617+6
Total319400
Registered voters/turnout318,668–171,000–
Source: IPU

Winning candidate by constituency

Governorate District Candidate Party First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Capital1Adel AssoumiIndependent1,87865.32
2Khalil Al MarzooqAl Wefaq2,14158.40
3Hadi Al MousawiAl Wefaq1,92685.64
4Abduljalil KhalilAl WefaqElected unopposed
5Mohammed MezelAl Wefaq1,66767.24
6Abdulrahman BumajeedIndependent1,14456.89
7Abdulmajid Al SebeaAl Wefaq1,84263.45
8Jameel KadhimAl Wefaq2,81886.20
Muharraq1Adel Al MaawdaAl AsalahElected unopposed
2Abdul Hameed Al MeerIndependent1,35743.831,73758.60
3Ali AhmedAl Menber1,14037.111,67555.03
4Mahmood Al Mahmood|Independent1,90426.413,41852.58
5Isa Al KoohejiIndependent1,89157.62
6Ali Al AsheeriAl Wefaq4,42283.77
7Othman SharifIndependent4,56255.72
8Ghanem Al BuainainAl Asalah2,09942.852,77459.49
Northern1Matar Ibrahim MatarAl Wefaq768985.72
2Ali Al AswadAl Wefaq6,57787.71
3Abdul Hussain Al MetghawiAl Wefaq6,52389.98
4Hassan Al DossariIndependent1,54557.82
5Mohammed MajeedAl Wefaq5,13286.76
6Mohammed Ismail Al AmmadiAl Menber3,26345.223,77756.82
7Jassim HussainAl Wefaq5,10759.03
8Jawad FairoozAl Wefaq5,95454.99
9Hassan SultanAl Wefaq8,81489.43
Central1Salman Abdullah SalemAl Wefaq6,17567.49
2Abdullah Al AaliAl Wefaq7,24288.99
3Adnan Al MalikiIndependent1,87545.182,53359.36
4Isa Al QadhiIndependent3,23743.133,90555.99
5Abdali Mohammed HassanAl Wefaq3,50156.65
6Hassan IsaAl Wefaq5,30891.96
7Abdulhalim MuradAl Asalah3,17855.9
8Ali ZayedIndependent3,10839.753,88850.20
9Khalifa Al DhahraniIndependent3,58677.42
Southern1Jassim Al SaeediIndependent2,53862.71
2Abdullah HuwailIndependent1,19452.44
3Ahmed Al MullaIndependent96830.6201271.99
4Abdullah Al DossariIndependentElected unopposed
5Khamis Al RumaihiIndependentElected unopposed
6Lateefa Al GaoodIndependentElected unopposed
Source: Bahrain Commission for Legislation and Legal Opinion and Alwasat Newspaper

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."[5]

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 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."[5]

Aftermath

Following the 2011 Bahraini protests, all 18 Al Wefaq MPs resigned from parliament.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Maximiliano Herrera. "Electoral Calendar- world elections,US elections,presidential election,world parties". Mherrera.org. Archived from the original on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  2. 1 2 Bahrain's Opposition INAA Wins 18 Seats in Parliament Al-Manar, 24 October 2010
  3. ↑ "Bahrain's political societies lose big in polls". Gulf News. 1 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Bahrain: Four opposition groups call for boycotting Bahrain Election". The Muslim News. 23 October 2010. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Mahjoub, Taieb (October 24, 2010). "Shiites make slender gain in Bahrain election". Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  6. 1 2 Bahrainis Vote for New Parliament amid Political Tensions Al-Manar, 23 October 2010
  7. 1 2 Parliament polls close in Bahrain Al Jazeera, 23 October 2010
  8. ↑ Poll success for Bahrain Shia bloc Al Jazeera, 24 October 2010
  9. ↑ Bahraini woman dies 'during protest' Al Jazeera, 16 July 2011
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