Opposition Figure Calls Bahrain’s Upcoming Elections ‘A Sham’
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesman for Bahrain’s Haq Movement for Civil Liberties and Democracy, an opposition group, highlighted the Al Khalifa regime’s continued crackdown on the people of the Persian Gulf country and said the upcoming elections would be nothing but a complete sham.
“The (Manama) regime has dissolved political opposition groups and denied the nationality of Bahrain's biggest religious leader, Sheikh Isa Qassim,” Abdul Ghani al-Khanjar said during a press conference held at the Tasnim News Agency’s headquarters in Tehran on Wednesday.
He further described the upcoming elections, due to be held by the Al Khalifa regime later this month, as a complete sham.
The regime continues its plan to change “the main identity” of Bahrain and the identity of its people by granting citizenship to people from other countries and abolishing the citizenship of Shiite and Sunni Bahraini citizens, the opposition figure went on to say.
General elections are planned to be held in the tiny island country on November 24.
Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with Manama using heavy-handed measures in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.
Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations.
Amnesty International and many other international rights organizations have frequently censured the Bahraini regime for the rampant human rights abuses against opposition groups and anti-regime protesters.
Since 1980s, the ruling Al Khalifa regime has been trying to change the Kingdom’s demographic structure which largely consists of Shiites.
