Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Former MP Ali Al-Aswad said that any form of future mediations in Bahrain will fail unless they tackle changing the political regime into a real constitutional monarchy.

Al-Aswad pointed out on the sidelines of the conference (Gulf States and the aspired future) that Al-Wefaq Society has for years revised the form of the political system in Bahrain, and found that shifting to a constitutional monarchy is the best option fir the country, and this is what was stipulated in the National Action Charter, in a way that the government is formed of the people and any individual is to be held accountable.

He added: "through the events of the conference, it is clear that there is a big and real gap between the Gulf peoples and their rulers, and this gap is the result of the rulers' monopoly of national wealth and their governance. This imbalance was followed by major crises related to political, social and cultural decisions, until we reached a stage where we have no differing opinion in Bahrain."

"The ruling party in Bahrain runs an absolute monarchy, not a constitutional one as stated in the National Action Charter, and only took the constitutional monarchy's name. This contributed to the deterioration of the political situation again, while people's sufferings continued. Thus, we believe that any form of future mediation in Bahrain will be impossible unless they address the transformation of the political system into a true constitutional monarchy."

He further highlighted that "For example, there is a King in Jordan protected by the constitution, while the government has no members of the royal family. However, in Bahrain, there is the King, Prime Minister, Crown Prince, and ministers from the ruling family members as well as governors from the ruling family too and no one can criticize their actions. What is left then? How can a person work in the government yet people have no right to criticize his work and evaluate his performance?"

Ali Al-Aswad concluded "There is a view among Western academics who participated in the conference and others as well, that long-term stability cannot be guaranteed and there is no clarity at all in the forms of political systems in the Gulf, unless these regimes change into constitutional monarchies, whose governments are derived from popular will."

Arabic Version