Towards a Mature Relation between the
Government and the Opposition
The reform project has acknowledged the necessity of the existence
of the opposition as part of the political game and paved the way
for the establishment of political societies (parties). It has also
encouraged political societies to compete for the Parliament. Although
these are pioneering steps, after two elections, it appears that
what has been accomplished so far is not enough to make the opposition
a real partner in the decision-making. Even in the Parliament, the
elected members found it extremely difficult to adopt laws, particularly
those related to monitoring and accountability. Due to such difficulties
it has become clear to the opposition that they will not be able
to fulfill their election promises, which placed them in a very
difficult position.
The problem does not relate to the very existence of a political
opposition as part of the existing system, but to the role that
is given to it. According to Tahir Hikmat, member of the Institute
of Political Development, there are some players who accuse parties
within the Government of wanting the opposition to become just a
decorative name in order to complete the picture of the present
democracy. On the other hand, there are those who accuse the opposition
of attempting to take over the Government without going through
the necessary stages.
It seems that the cold relationship between the active political
parties and the Government has significantly affected the parliamentary
experience. Many international reports have noticed the unstable
relationship between the two parties which hinders the democratic
development in Bahrain. Therefore, last June, the Ibn Khaldon Centre
called for a partnership and co-operation between the Government
and the opposition in order to solve the problems facing the country.
Based on this, the opposition parties demanded the Government to
recognize their role and consider them as a partner in the decision-making
process. In addition to this, the opposition feels it should be
given the chance to rule.
However, the opposition is still fragmented as it does not have
a unified program and ideological differences resulted in temporary
alliances. Therefore, although the opposition has stressed that
it does not view the Government as an enemy, and that it is ready
for discussion and dialogue, but it has failed to convince the Government
of this.
The failure of the opposition- which was part of the political
process and participated in the Parliament- is also a failure to
the reform project. Attempting to weaken or divide the opposition,
will eventually weaken the political system itself. Moreover, hindering
the work of the parliamentary opposition, in particular, and not
allowing it to accomplish anything is a failure for the entire political
process. The danger is that if political participation does not
achieve its objective in promoting change and reflecting the hopes
of the public through the official means -introduced by the reform
project- extremists will gain more power and citizens will avoid
participating in elections. Moreover, a weak opposition is also
a weakness in the political mechanisms, which have been agreed upon,
and casts doubts about their ability to achieve their objectives.
Weakening the opposition will result in the absence of a second
opinion. Therefore, the possibility of correcting the performance
of the political system and the Government’s bureaucracy will drastically
decrease.
For this reason, the existence of the opposition and a second
opinion is a necessity for any democratic regime and for a country
striving to become one. This is true even if the presence of the
opposition is disturbing and even if it exceeds its limits. The
fact that an opposition exists is a sign of political openness and
reflects the maturity of any political system. The performance of
the opposition also reflects how mature a society is.
Whatever the reasons for the estrangement between the Government
and the opposition inside and outside Parliament, we conclude that:
- The development of the political forces in Bahrain strengthens
the political system. During the democratization process the opposition
must become a partner that is involved in decision- making. Thus,
reaching agreements and initiating dialogue to discuss the future
of the country is necessary.
- The failure of the opposition - within the democratic mechanism
- to achieve some of its objectives and the failure to become a
real partner reflects negatively onto the reform project and could
cause instability in the country. It should be noted that this failure
maybe due to the weakness of the opposition and its performance.
- The Government took the initiative in the reform process, and
thus, can once again take the initiative to reach out to increase
public participation in decision-making. In addition to this, whenever
the number of political active forces increases, this is a bigger
guarantee for the stability of the country and promotes the legitimacy
of the political system.
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