Bahrain Elections Looked Good, But Don’t Portend Change

Touting their weekend elections as a great example of Western-style democracy in the Middle East, Bahrain’s parliament did not see any major upheavals in power. The Shiite bloc won 18 of the 40 seats with 13 going to the pro-government Sunnis. The remaining nine races were headed for a second round of voting, and were expected to go to backers of the ruling Sunnis and keep preserve their majority. The Shiites, who make up the majority of the island kingdom, had come under heavy crackdown in the lead up to the voting. The election had taken on a Western look as the parties used billboards and door-to-door campaigning. But in the end, the Shiites did not even contest the majority of seats in parliament, fielding just 18 candidates. While the ultimate rule in Bahrain remains with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, parliament is the main battleground for Shiites who see themselves being treated as second-class citizens.