In 1975, a conflict between the government and the National Assembly occurred concerning the “National Security Law”. Menissi (2003) noted that, due to this conflict, the late Emir used his
constitutional powers to dissolve the National Assembly and appoint a new government. However, no election was held to form a new National Assembly as specified in the Constitution. Moreover, some of the Articles of the Constitution were disabled and strict measures were implemented to prevent the political opposition from rebelling. Consequently, the opposition went underground and unrest surfaced from time to time, particularly during the mid 1990s (Menissi, 2003).
In March 1999, the Crown Prince succeeded the late Emir. Even though the opposition had lost momentum on the streets in the previous two years, the new Emir faced an enormous burden, as the roots of the troubles were still alive and vigorous. As gestures of good intentions to ease the political tension, the new Emir released the leaders of the political opposition in July 1999, issued a general amnesty freeing all those who had been criminalized under the National Security Law and invited all exiles to return to Bahrain. In addition, major amendments to the laws were executed, such as the abolishment of the National Security Law and ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Conventions Against Torture (Coleman, 2012; Menissi, 2003).
In a public speech on 3 October 2000, the new Emir announced his wish to take on a wide-ranging reform project to put Bahrain back on track and to end the Constitutional dilemma created by the cessation of the National Assembly. This was followed by a national dialogue to draft a National Charter of Action. In February 2001, Bahrainis voted on the draft in a general referendum. The
overwhelming majority of the Bahrainis endorsed the draft, and the National Charter of Action became the general framework for the upcoming reforms ((Menissi, 2003, Coleman, 2012).
According to the National Charter of Action, Bahrain became a Constitutional Monarchy headed by H.M. the King. In addition, the charter affirmed the constitutional principle of the separation between the executive, legislature and judiciary powers. The legislative system was organised in a bicameral National Assembly consisting of the Nuwab Council (a Representative Council made up
of 40 directly elected members) and the Shura Council (a Consultative Council made up of 40
members appointed by H.M. the King). The executive branch is headed by H.M the King, with the Prime Minister and the Ministers appointed by Royal Decrees. The judicial system was also modified to incorporate new instruments to facilitate the state’s reforms, such as the establishment of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, the Constitutional Court and the Attorney General and the public prosecution system. In general, the National Charter of Action was a breakthrough in dealing with the constitutional dilemma; nevertheless, major constitutional amendments and legal frameworks adjustments were still needed in order for the National Charter of Action to take effect (Menissi, 2003).
To achieve this end, the Emir (who later became king) appointed two committees, one to activate the National Charter of Action and the other to prepare the needed constitutional amendments. The first committee, the “National Charter of Action Activation Committee”, was tasked with making the necessary adjustments to the governmental system in accordance with the frameworks established by the National Charter of Action. As a result, many immediate measures were taken to adjust the laws and regulations. For example, the country was divided into five governorates, each governorate containing ten constituencies. In addition, a new law was enacted to regulate the elections for the Nuwab Council (Menissi, 2003). The second committee, the “Committee for the Amendment of Constitutional Articles”, was commissioned to put forward proposals for constitutional amendments. Menissi (2003) summarizes these amendments in four issues: (1) the position of H.M. the King at the helm of the political system; (2) the changes in the legislative branch in terms of configuration and legislative powers of the elected members in the National Assembly; (3) the mechanism for declaring the “State of National Safety” and (4) the autonomy of the Constitutional Supreme Court.
The political opposition disagreed with the content of these amendments and the mechanism used to amend the Constitution. They questioned the supremacy of the National Charter of Action over the Constitution of 1973 and insisted on the requirement specified in the Constitution for constitutional articles to be amended via the National Assembly. Nevertheless, the political leadership argued that the National Charter of Action was superior to the Constitution of 1973, as the Emir was thereby commissioned by the people to carry out the necessary actions to reform the state and restore democracy. In addition, the political leadership argued that the constitutional mechanism specified in the Constitution of 1973 was not applicable, as memberships of the National Assembly of 1973 had expired; and the number of available members of that National Assembly did not constitute the required percentage for amending the Constitution (Menissi, 2003). Despite this constitutional debate, both the political leadership and the opposition were keen to maintain the positive progress and avoid any unnecessary clashes. The opposition expressed their view publicly via press conferences, political forums and peaceful demonstrations. Nevertheless, the political leadership succeeded in containing this conflict and, eventually, in enacting the constitutional amendments in the Constitution of 2002 issued by the Emir on 14 February 2002. Consequently, these amendments facilitated the launch of the State’s Reform Project and paved the way for holding the elections for the Nuwab Council in October 2002. Although, some members of the opposition, who insisted on rejecting these constitutional amendments, did not participate in the Nuwab elections, the elections went smoothly and about 53% of the 242,449 eligible (male and female) voters participated (Menissi, 2003). This remarkable rate of participation in the elections demonstrated the Bahrainis’ eagerness for the reforming the state and may also have been an indication of the public’s support for the constitutional amendments.
Since then, many changes have occurred in Bahrain as a result of the State’s Reform Project. However, the following subsections focus on the consequences of this reform project for the succession processes for executive positions in the public sector. Specifically, the focus is on those political, economic, social and cultural issues that are potential sources of the influential factors acting upon the succession process.