Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The 2022 Bahrain elections marked an important turning point in the international and global response to the events in Bahrain with new convictions formed among the government's allies, who seem to have abandoned diplomatic courtesies that have been at the forefront of this relationship for many years.

Official statements of commendations usually issued from the United States, the United Kingdom and other European countries were nowhere to be seen, as was the media interaction that had been present after 2011, which included the balanced coverage of protests, the opposition's boycott, and the government's organization of elections.

For its part, the government has won a new friend after everyone abandoned it, and for the first time, people who hold Bahraini nationality cast their votes for the parliamentary elections through the Bahraini embassy in Tel Aviv, according to the official account of the embassy. 

Also, for the first time, Israeli media correspondents were present at polling stations inside Bahrain, and reports were talking about the heavy voter turnout, and high participation rates, which rendered these Israeli media outlets a part of the Bahraini government propaganda. 

However, international media outlets were in Manama two weeks before the elections, accompanying Pope Francis on his tour, and His Holiness's public talk about discrimination and death sentences whetted their appetite to open Bahrain's dark human rights record and focus on the stifling political crisis the country has been experiencing for 11 years.

The visit, through which Bahrain wanted to promote false tolerance in the country, caused the biter to be bitten after the Pope's speech and the way the media dealt with his visit. As soon as the visit ended, everyone left and no media outlet bothered to keep its correspondent or send another to cover the elections.

This is how Bahrain was absent from news bulletins and headlines, as most media outlets were content with the coverage of international news agencies (Reuters, AFP) that focused on repression and the absence of opposition due to political isolation. The coverage of major international media outlets was also negative (France 24, Arabic BBC and the British The Guardian). 

Now, it is safe to say that the authorities have no one left to defend them or promote their projects except the Gulf media, which usually do not go out of the ordinary in their coverage of the events taking place in member states, as well as the Arab media, which did not fail Bahrain (or any other dictator) in the worst and darkest times, since these media outlets usually promote anyone who pays them, not to mention the Israeli media outlets that fell in love with the so-called Bahraini democracy.

Arabic Version