Hamad offers lower chamber more powers
GOVERNMENT ISSUES AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION
Manama King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa announced yes terday a series of amendments to the constitution that would give the elected chamber new distinctive powers in efforts to “broaden democracy” in Bahrain.
In a speech broadcast by Bahrain Television, King Hamad said the amendments aim to reflect the popular will in the formation of the government based on its programme.
“The Council of Representatives will discuss the action programme of the government after the cabinet takes the constitutional oath. It has the right to approve or reject the government programme, and if the programme is endorsed, the government gets the confidence of the Council,” he said.
Arab rights court
The 40- member l ower chamber will be the only entity to monitor the government’s action, he said.
Meanwhile , Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa proposed the setting up of an Arab human rights court.
Speaking during a joint conference i n Manama with Arab League Secretary General Nabeel Al Arabi, Shaikh Khalid said the proposal will be discussed at the next Arab League summit scheduled in March.
Manama Bahrain’s l ower chamber is to be given the right to accept or reject the government’s action programme under amendments to the constitution.
The government will have the confidence of the lower chamber when its programme i s endorsed by the lawmakers, King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa said yesterday, as he announced a series of amendments to the constitution that give the elected chamber new distinctive powers that “would broaden democracy in Bahrain”.
“The philosophy and motivation for the constitutional amendments is to open new horizons for our democracy, based on the recommendations of the National Dialogue,” King Hamad said in a morning address to the nation.
“They will also reflect our commitment to the stability of the nation, the unity of our people and the fulfilment of their aspirations to develop our democracy and our political programmes, while taking into consideration the best interests of the homeland and of the present and future generations,” he said in the speech broadcast by Bahrain Television.
Healing
King Hamad i n June called for a national dialogue to help heal the political, economic and social wounds caused by deep divisions between the various segments of the country.
Around 300 people from parliament, t he government, labour unions, women’s groups, civil society, religious establishments, political parties and the media were invited for the multi-theme dialogue.
Even though the different opposition societies had divergent views over the merit of participating in the debates, the National Dialogue issued a series of recommendations that included introducing amendments to the constitution promulgated in 2002 to give more powers to the elected lower chamber of the bicameral parliament.
“In line with the conclusions of the National Dialogue, these constitutional amendments aim to reflect the popular will in the formation of the government based on its programme,” he said.
Confidence
“The Council of Representatives will discuss the action programme of the government after the cabinet takes the constitutional oath. It has the right to approve or reject the government programme, and if the programme is endorsed, the government gets the confidence of the Council,” he said.
The 40- member l ower chamber will be the only entity to monitor the government’s action, he said.
“Only the Council has the right to state the lack of cooperation with the government as well as to initiate discussions on any public i ssue. The amendments add guarantees to ensure the participation of the Council of Representatives in session during the discussions of the questions addressed to ministers, and to set a timeframe for the government to justify reasons for not considering the Council’s demands,” King Hamad said.
The new powers are to be added to the Council’s already established rights to quiz ministers, move for a no-confidence vote in ministers and set up investigation committees, he said.
King Hamad said that there would be new procedures for appointing members of the 40-seat upper house, the Shura Council.