Bahraini opposition groups, activists unanimously agree to boycott Nov. 12 polls

The deputy secretary general of Bahrain's dissolved al-Wefaq National Islamic Society says opposition groups, in a show of outright rejection of dictatorship and repression by the ruling Manama regime, have unanimously agreed to boycott the forthcoming parliamentary elections in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

“In light of the increasingly suffocating atmosphere, dictatorship of the ruling Al Khalifah dynasty, utter disregard to public demands and violation of people’s right to seal their own fate, foreign-based Bahraini opposition groups as well as social and political activists in the country have taken the decision not to cast ballots in the upcoming polls,” Sheikh Hussain al-Daihi said in an interview with the Arabic-language Lualua television network.

He added that Bahraini authorities are making preparations for the opening of the Israeli embassy in Manama, stressing that the so-called diplomatic mission would actually serve as the den of espionage for the Tel Aviv regime and would seriously endanger the security of Bahrain and the entire Middle East region.

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“Despite the ambitious efforts of the Manama regime such as vote buying, Bahraini officials have suffered a major diplomatic failure. The decision to boycott the November 12 elections came in response to a call by [Bahrain’s most prominent cleric] Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim not to participate in the polls,” Sheikh Daihi said.

“The ruling Manama regime is keeping the Bahraini nation impoverished, even though it exercises complete monopoly on the national assets as well as the vital economic sectors of the country. Poverty is widespread across the country, and approximately half of the population (47%) receives subsidies,” the senior Bahraini opposition figure said.

“What is happening nowadays in Bahrain is outrageously insane. Candidates take great pride in having the chance to serve the Al Khalifah regime than the nation should they get elected,” Sheikh Daihi said.

Earlier this week, Sheikh Isa Qassim called for a boycott of the country’s forthcoming parliamentary elections, saying the sham vote is meant to "slaughter democracy" in the Persian Gulf kingdom, as the ruling Al Khalifah regime is insistently exercising its heavy-handed crackdown on dissent.

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• Forthcoming elections solely aimed at strengthening tyranny in Bahrain, prominent Shia cleric says

In a post published on his Twitter page, he reiterated his call on people from all strata of the Bahraini society to boycott the elections, stating that voter participation would not result in the consolidation of democracy in Bahrain as communities are largely excluded from the political process.

“How would it be possible to strengthen democracy [in Bahrain], whilst elections have originally been designed to destroy it? This is an election whose doors are closed to those who seek democracy,” the senior Shia cleic underlined.

Wefaq, in a statement released on September 14, described the boycott of November 12 polls as a national duty, emphasizing that the ruling Manama regime maintains absolute control over the electoral process and seeks to install a weak legislature, whose main task would be to burnish the image of the corrupt Al Khalifah dynasty and cover up its human rights abuses.

It added that the constitutional and political rift between the Bahraini regime and the nation is deepening day by day, the main reason for which, it said, is the lack of any social agreement between the two sides.

In the absence of a real administration, the Al Khalifah regime continues its authoritarian rule by imposing its political, economic, security and social wills on the Bahraini nation, Wefaq said.

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