Bahrain’s first female speaker hailed ‘a representation of progression’
▶ Former journalist Fouzia Zainal becomes the second woman to lead a parliament in the Gulf region
Bahrain’s parliament chose a woman as speaker for the first time as newly elected representatives attended its opening session on Wednesday.
Fouzia Zainal received the votes of 25 of the 40 members of the Council of Representatives to become only the second woman in Arab world to hold the position of house speaker, after Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, President of the UAE’s Federal National Council.
Ms Zainal heads a Council of Representatives with more female members – six – than at any time since Bahrain held its first parliamentary election under its current constitution in 2002.
“I would like to thank all those who voted for me, as well as all those who did not vote for me, in the exercise of civilised democracy,” Ms Zainal said.
She worked as a journalist before going into politics, running for election twice before winning this year.
Her achievement was hailed as a “democratic moment” for the kingdom.
Bahrain held simultaneous parliamentary and municipal elections on November 24, with a run-off vote on December 1 for 31 parliamentary seats and 23 municipal seats that were not decided in the first round.
Her counterpart in the Kuwaiti assembly, Marzouq Al Ghanim, congratulated Ms Zainal, saying that her victory represented the progression of Bahraini women.
Bahrain’s justice minister, Sheikh Khalid Al Khalifa, said the polls were notable for the greater participation of women and young people as well as increased voter scrutiny of the candidates. There were 41 women among the 293 candidates for the 40-seat Council of Representatives, and about 200 stood for municipal seats.
Critics said the election was marred by an opposition boycott and the barring of members from two major political groups that were dissolved by the courts.
Bahrain’s new parliament and government comes at a crucial time for the island nation as it seeks to revive its stalling economy and attract foreign investment while dealing with concerted attempts by Iran to stir up unrest.
Bahrain’s electoral authorities said about 67 per cent of the electorate took part in the parliamentary election and about 70 per cent in the municipal elections. Bahrain also held elections in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014.