Young club, women lawmakers to give a new look to parliament

The newly-elected parliament will have an entirely new look like only three incumbents won the electoral battle this time. The strong youth representation will also make the new parliament look different from the previous ones. The number of women lawmakers have doubled to six when compared to the last parliament. Adel Al Asoomi who won the first constituency of the Capital Governorate, Isa Al Kooheji representing the fourth constituency of Muharraq Governorate and Ghazi Al Rahmah who emerged winner in the fourth constituency of Northern Governorate are the only incumbents who have made it to the new parliament.

Many existing lawmakers lost the electoral battle this time. MP Rua Al Haiki was ousted in the first round of voting while other incumbents including Mohammed Al Maarifi, Mohammed Al Ammadi, Abdulrahman Bumjaid, Nasser Al Qaseer, Ali Al Atish, Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Ahmed and Abdulrahman Bu Ali were defeated in the second round of the elections. Former MPs who won the seats include Ali Ahmed Al Zayed, Isa Al Qadhi, Yousif Zainal and Abdulnabi Salman.

Political analysis group Citizens for Bahrain said in its commentary the Bahraini public was frustrated with the performance of the outgoing parliament members. “Nevertheless, the 2018 elections sent an even more decisive message from Bahrainis regarding their frustration over the performance of existing MPs. In the first round, Adel Al Asoomi and Isa Al Kooheji once again proved their local popularity by winning their seats outright.