The National Democratic Opposition Parties warned the Bahraini Authority of the unilateral steps it is taking instead of an inclusive national consensus to take Bahrain out of its crisis.
The opposition parties issued a statement on Wednesday, stressing that decisions regarding the distribution of electoral constituencies must be issued by legislation of an elected representatives council which enjoys full power. The statement refused such decision been taken by the Prime Minister. The opposition parties stated that defining the parliamentary election date before reaching a permanent and inclusive settlement to solve the 3 year long crisis narrows opportunities for solution and leads the people to boycott the upcoming elections.
The statement also mentioned that the three decrees issued two days ago are linked to the administrative system of the State and necessities social and political agreements for any amendments.
The opposition described the decision to cancel the Central Governorate and distribute its constituencies between the Northern and Southern Governorates as being arbitrary.
“The opposition parties have presented detailed suggestions for a political solution, including to implement a single constituency system or a 5-constituencies system with a fair electoral system that reflects the equal weight of voters”, the statement said.
The opposition parties reiterated readiness to engage in genuine dialogue and negotiations, highlighting that the numerous initiatives it delivered to the Authority did not receive replies.
The opposition parties called for a security détente starting with the release of all political prisoners and inviting them to dialogue, implementing the recommendations of both the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry and the UN Human Rights Council, to stop the harassment of the opposition societies by attempting to dissolve Al Wefaq and Waad, to end sectarian discrimination and political naturalization and build confidence bridges.
However, the opposition parties stresses the Authority is sending out negative indicators by continuing its autocratic policies and repression which leads to a further complicated situation and makes it difficult for the opposition parties to participate in the parliamentary elections.
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