Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Deputy Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Sheikh Hussein Al-Daihi, announced the Society's full boycott of Bahrain's parliamentary and municipal elections in a speech he delivered on Friday (November 4, 2022) at an event held in Beirut, entitled "Word of the Homeland".

"We reject all forms of enslavement and marginalization of our people imposed by these farcical elections," stressed Sheikh Al-Daihi. "We announce our complete boycott of the parliamentary and municipal elections, and call on our people to boycott these bogus elections. We expect the lowest turnout since these elections are just a farce," he added.

He went on to say that the reasons for the boycott are many and varied and are linked to the constitutional and social context, revealing 10 reasons out of the 139 that Al-Wefaq Society will be publishing at a later time.

Al-Daihi underlined that these elections perpetuate the crisis and allow the incursion of the Zionist enemy into Bahrain. "What does the Bahrain regime want to achieve today by organizing these farcical elections? How are we supposed to accept these bogus elections that no sane person would accept?" he wondered.

He highlighted that the authorities in Bahrain adopted the Political Isolation Law to prevent all activists and opponents of the regime, who were estimated to make up one-third of the electorate, from running and voting in the upcoming elections.

"We call for free and fair elections in which the votes of citizens are equal without discrimination, under the supervision of a neutral body," he said.

Sheikh Al-Daihi called for creating a stable political climate, clearing prisons of political prisoners, and returning the displaced, and called on the international community to abide by its slogans and support the people of Bahrain in their demands.

Speaking of the country's National Assembly, he explained that the parliament is not capable, with its limited powers, of passing or blocking any law that the government does not approve of, and is also unable to hold the executive authority accountable.

He further stressed that the people of Bahrain, including all components and denominations, have no real role in the legislative and executive powers, accusing government institutions of being void and not expressive of the popular will.

"We were and still are the students of justice, reform, change and peace. We did everything in our power to consolidate these principles," he said, but the "price our people paid was imprisonment, displacement, abuse, and revocation of citizenships."

"The Bahraini regime, with its supporters abroad, stood like a wall against reform and radical political change," he added.

The Al-Wefaq Deputy Secretary-General also pointed out that today, the 4th of November, coincides with the issuance of the life sentence against national opposition leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, whom he described as an icon of freedom who demanded justice and equal citizenship.

"As our Secretary General Sheikh Ali Salman said, the government wants us, through these elections, to sign an instrument of enslavement, and that, we shall never do!" he stressed.