Bahrain Mirror: The Shura Council approved in its session on Sunday, chaired by Ali Saleh, a bill that deprives the members and heads of dissolved opposition political societies from having membership in the boards of directors of social societies and clubs.

The bill stipulated banning "those who lack political rights," including members and leaders of disbanded opposition groups.

The Shura services authority said that the bill highlighted the need for the candidate for membership of the societies board of directors, according to Decree Law No. (21) of 1989, to enjoy his political rights in addition to his civil rights, adding that the law ensures banning the membership of any person who does not enjoy political rights in the board of directors; "due to the fact that a person's lack of such important rights reveals a lack of political capacity, which effectively renders him or her incapable of enjoying such membership, where he/she would be providing public service.

According to the law, it added that it was decided that such a person would not be competent to exercise any political rights, thus such a person should not be represented by any of the social or cultural entities working in the field of youth and sports. An amendment to Legislative Decree No. 14 of 2002 on the exercise of political rights prevented from running for membership of the Parliament the heads and members of political societies that have been dissolved by a final decision for committing a serious violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Kingdom or any of its laws, as well as anyone who deliberately damaged or disrupted constitutional or parliamentary life by ending or leaving parliamentary work in the Council or whose membership was dropped for the same reasons.

Since 2011, the authorities dissolved the Islamic Action Society (Amal), Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society and the National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad), which are all opposition political groups.

Arabic Version