MANAMA, Bahrain: Fourteen Shia candidates have won seats in the Bahraini parliamentary elections that were boycotted by the country's Shia-dominated opposition.
Among the winners in the election results released on Sunday were three women. The results follow runoff elections on Saturday for the 40-seat lower house of parliament in the tiny Gulf island nation.
The elections were the country's first full parliamentary elections since widespread Islamic Awakaning erupted in February 2011.
Bahrain is a Western ally that hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet and is part of the US-led coalition striking the Islamic State group. It continues to face street clashes and other low-level unrest as Shias press for greater political freedoms.
A few days ago Bahraini regime forces stormed the top Shia cleric Isa Qassim's house in the mostly-Shia village of Diraz, west of the capital Manama, and checked the identities of everyone inside the house.
The senior Shia cleric braved the tense atmosphere created by the regime and said at the Friday prayers in Diraz that pro-democracy protests would continue unabated in the country.
Sheikh Qassim has repeatedly and openly criticized the Al Khalifah regime over violent crackdown on anti-regime protests.
The reasons for the Bahrain uprising
Following the successful popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, the people of Bahrain tried to follow their examples and obtain concessions from the Al Khalifa government. In the beginning, protesters stated their minimum demands which included a number of political reforms and establishing a constitutional monarchy. In truth, these demands did not target the Al Khalifa regime and Bahrainis only wanted to participate in the political governance of the country as well as in determining its future.
The main reason behind the Bahrain uprising can be sought in the institutional, financial and ethical corruption of the Al Khalifa regime, which had become more pronounced in Bahrain in recent years.
This Persian Gulf littoral state is completely dominated by the royal family and for example 98 percent of the country’s coasts are considered Al Khalifa property and off-limits for Bahrainis.
In recent years, Bahrain has turned into a haven for criminals. Mafias trafficking human organs and women have become organized in this country. This has turned Manama into one of the most important crime centers in the world.
Ethnic and religious discrimination in Bahrain has resulted in some pundits saying the country is governed by a regime similar to the South African apartheid. This being said, the Bahraini uprising was in essence a civil rights movement.
Because of these conditions, Bahrainis on Feb 14, 2011 rose up against the Al Khalifa regime. Political activists in Bahrain have named this day “Day of Rage” and asked people to state their demands by staging protests. The first part of Bahraini demands was political reforms. They wanted the prime minister and head of administration to be elected by the people like other democratic governments.
They also wanted political activists and Shia clerics who had been jailed since August 2010 to be released. Bahrainis also wanted the Shura Council, which has 40 members who are appointed by the Al Khalifa, to be dissolved.