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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 002069 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
H PASS FOR SENATOR NELSON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM OREP BA BILAT HUMRIT POL
SUBJECT: SENATOR NELSON DISCUSSES ELECTIONS, IRAQ WITH 
PARLIAMENTARIANS, ELECTION OBSERVERS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
------- 
Summary 
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¶1.  (C) Senator Nelson December 18 met with members of both 
chambers of Bahrain's parliament and later with 
representatives of three non-governmental organizations 
involved in observation of the recent parliamentary and 
municipal elections.  Al Asala (Salafi) political society 
member Isa Abul Fateh expressed his sadness over the 
increasing sectarian problems in the region, blaming the U.S. 
for the rise in sectarian violence in Iraq.  COR member Dr. 
Jasim Hussein from leading Shia political society Al Wifaq 
encouraged U.S. engagement with all countries of the region, 
including Syria and Iran.  On Bahrain's democratic progress, 
Shura Council member Jamal Fakhro spoke in favor of the 
cautious steps the King and GOB were taking toward political 
openness.  Regarding election observation, NGO 
representatives said that the voting process was largely free 
and fair, but problems included campaign violations, 
allegations of pressure on military personnel by their 
leadership to vote for designated candidates, and lack of 
transparency at general polling stations.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Over lunch December 18, Senator Nelson (D-FL) 
discussed, among other issues, U.S. challenges in Iraq with 
parliamentary members of both Bahrain's elected body, the 
Council of Representatives (COR), and its appointed body, the 
Shura Council.  Referring to the Iraq Study Group report's 
recommendation that the U.S. engage with Syria, Senator 
Nelson explained that the two purposes of his trip to the 
region were to explore the idea of opening a dialogue with 
Syria and to listen to regional interlocutors talk about 
their concerns over the situation in Iraq.  On the former, 
Senator Nelson said that in their meeting, he and President 
al-Asad had found no common ground on issues related to 
Lebanon and Hizbullah, Iran, or the Israel-Palestinian 
conflict and Hamas.  He said that he saw only one area of 
possible cooperation; the Syrians might be willing to move on 
tightening the Syrian-Iraqi border. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Concern About Iraqi Sectarian Violence 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) COR incumbent and Al Asala member Isa Abul Fateh 
expressed his suspicion that the sharp increase in sectarian 
problems in Iraq was a sign of a hidden agenda, although he 
did not elaborate.  Referring to Iranian influence in 
Bahrain, he said that up until the Iranian revolution, 
Bahrainis did not talk of differences between Sunnis and 
Shias, but the revolution influenced the Shia population in 
Bahrain, thereby increasing sectarian divisions.  He blamed 
the U.S. intervention in Iraq for the sectarian problems 
there.  Most important in the future, he said, was for both 
the U.S. and Iran to leave Iraq and be prevented from 
interfering any more in Iraq's internal affairs.  Due to the 
"shrinking" of our world, the interference of any country in 
the affairs of another causes problems that are felt not only 
locally, but also regionally and around the world.  In the 
short term, however, he worried that an immediate and abrupt 
U.S. pull-out would spark a civil war that would spread first 
to Syria and Jordan, then to the Gulf and beyond. 
 
¶4.  (C) Independent COR member Latifa Al Qa'oud, who is the 
sole woman in the COR, stated that even Iraqis she had talked 
with were shocked by the level of violence in Iraq.  Al 
Qa'oud expressed surprise that the U.S. did not have an 
adequate plan for Iraq after the invasion.  Senator Nelson 
pointed out that though there were plans, there were mistakes 
made, one of the foremost being the dissolution of the Iraqi 
military.  Newly-elected COR member Dr. Jasim Hussein, member 
of leading Shia political society Al Wifaq, encouraged 
increased U.S. engagement with all countries in the region, 
including both Syria and Iran. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Democratic Reform, Slow But Sure 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Moving to the subject of Bahrain's democratic 
progress, Senator Nelson asked about the strength of 
parliament's legislative power.  Newly elected first 
vice-chair and long-term member of the Shura Council and KPMG 
Managing Partner Jamal Fakhro described the evolution of the 
 
MANAMA 00002069  002 OF 003 
 
 
Shura Council during his tenure, saying that the council used 
to have an entirely advisory role with the government. 
However, since the parliamentary elections in 2002 and the 
formation of the COR, the Shura has become more of a 
legislative body that reviews and votes on legislation and 
can call cabinet ministers for questioning on government 
policy.  Fakhro made note of the Political Societies Law of 
2005, calling it a step forward to encourage the populace to 
participate more actively in the political process, putting 
Bahrain a step ahead of its neighbors.  He spoke in favor of 
the measured steps the King and the government were taking 
toward increasing levels of political empowerment of the 
people. 
 
¶6.  (C) Abul Fateh agreed with Fakhro on this last point, 
saying that if the government pushes democratic change too 
fast without keeping the country balanced and stable, it may 
collapse.  Abul Fateh recognized that the COR has limited 
power as a legislature, but he advocated gradual 
liberalization, allowing time to evaluate the new changes 
before deciding on further steps.  Referring to the 
opposition, he said that some political societies want to 
push sensitive political issues too quickly, and this could 
affect the stability of the nation. 
 
¶7.  (C) Responding to a question from Senator Nelson about 
the conduct of the Bahraini elections, Hussein said that 
there had been some problems, including the use of ten 
general polling stations that were open for voters of any of 
Bahrain's 40 districts.  He said that the centers were 
vulnerable to abuse and had lacked transparency in their 
counting of votes.  Senator Nelson asked about campaign costs 
and campaign finance in Bahrain, stating for comparison that 
his recent reelection campaign had cost approximately $18 
million, two-thirds of which was used for television time, 
and that in the U.S. individuals could donate no more than 
$3,400 to a single candidate.  Hussein said that his campaign 
had cost $25,000 from his personal savings and that he had 
not received any direct contributions from constituents.  He 
said that Al Wifaq had provided the equivalent of 
approximately $25,000 of in-kind contributions to his 
campaign.  Hussein commented that campaign finance was an 
issue the new parliament should address. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Election Observers Share Their Experiences 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (C) In a separate meeting December 18, Senator Nelson met 
with representatives of three civil society groups that were 
involved in observing the Bahraini elections:  Dr. Jasim Al 
Ajmi, president of Bahrain Transparency Society and organizer 
of the Election Monitoring Joint Committee (EMJC); 
newly-appointed Shura Council member Houda Nonoo, president 
of Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society; and Nizar Al Qari, 
vice president of the Bahrain Society for Public Freedom and 
Democracy.  Al Ajmi said that the process of polling itself 
was largely free and fair and that although there were 
irregularities, they were relatively minor.  However, outside 
the polling stations there were campaign violations, 
including using mosques and clerics to campaign for some 
candidates and smear others, and campaigns continued into the 
24-hour period before the polls opened and into election day. 
 In addition, Al Ajmi said there had been several allegations 
of pressure put on rank-and-file military personnel to vote 
for candidates identified by their superiors, but there was a 
lack of hard evidence to prove this had taken place. 
 
¶9.  (C) Nonoo described her experience as an observer at the 
Bahrain International Airport general polling station.  She 
said that the movement of observers within the polling 
station was restricted, and observers were not allowed to sit 
close to the counting tables while votes were tallied.  She 
said many elderly voters, through their interactions with 
election officials, had indicated that they had been told who 
to vote for before entering the station.  These voters did 
not recognize pictures of the candidates and had merely been 
told the name of the candidate for whom to vote.  Al Ajmi 
confirmed that his group had received calls from observers 
and voters from many stations describing similar situations. 
He also noted that EMJC had received complaints about judges 
marking the wrong candidate for voters who had asked for 
assistance, and that some elderly voters could not understand 
the accent of some of the judges as many judges in Bahrain 
are non-Bahraini Arabs. 
 
¶10.  (C) Al Qari agreed that in general the process was 
positive, but noted that in his estimation, there had been a 
 
MANAMA 00002069  003 OF 003 
 
 
serious problem with the ten public polling stations.  He 
said that judicial officials at several of the stations did 
not announce the tallies at the end of counting so that the 
results could later be verified by the independent observers. 
 Al Qari said that he had visited several polling stations 
and found that the level of responsiveness of the judge at 
each station varied widely.  Some, when requested to allow 
the observers more freedom of movement within the station, 
were more flexible and listened to requests while others made 
no effort to grant observers wider movement. 
 
 
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MONROE