Chapter V: Democratic Life

Bahrain has experienced direct democracy ever since Al-Khalifa assumed the rule of the country. Constant contact and consultation between the ruler and people, free and full access by the people to the ruler -constant of the relationship between the government and the people in Bahrain has helped molding all government policies in a way that is consistent with the wishes and interests of the people. In fact, the government remains to be fully receptive to the feelings of the people and, hence, has worked for the sole purpose of serving public good. Against this background, democracy has been reflected in practice through the constitution and the elected National Council and further enhanced by the addition of a Shura (consultative) council that has proved to be a forum of serious discussion, examination and advice over an entire matrix of public issues of concern to the country. Moreover, the Shura council has proved to be capable of being sufficiently receptive to new developments. Its cooperation with the government- in public interest- has been exemplary.

However, democracy is dynamic by nature, the wider its horizon, the greater the practice thereof. In this respect, it is worth mentioning that many a deep-rooted democracies are bicameral ones, in which cases one chamber represented the whole gamut of ideas and views on current affairs as reflected by representatives of people from all brackets whereas the other chamber would serve as a forum of experts and expertise. The experience of those democracies has proved that bi- cameral system is of great import in political terms. In order to broaden people's participation in public affairs, in line with principle of Shura, a basic Islamic principle of the government system of Bahrain, and in true belief of the right of the entire people to practice their constitutional political rights and with a view to being congruent with deep-rooted democracies, it is in the interest of the state of Bahrain to adopt a bicameral system whereby the legislature will consist of two chambers, namely one that is constituted through free, direct elections whose mandate will be to enact laws, and a second one that would have people with experience and expertise who would give advice as necessary. This bicameral structure of the legislature, a balanced one indeed, would offer many interrelated advantages, including people's participation in legislation-related affairs and interaction among all ideas and orientations within a single legislative council. This proposed structure of the legislative council would require an amendment of the constitution. It would achieve the dual benefit of making use of wisdom and expertise on the one hand and a variety of views of Bahraini electorate. Such an amendment would certainly allow for a wider horizon for democracy. This would support efforts being made for development, stability and prosperity. It is a democracy that supports social peace and national unity.