Bahrain’s democratic, human rights strides praised

Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Ahmed bin Ibrahim Al-Mulla, has asserted that the Kingdom of Bahrain will carry on its democratic and human rights march to achieve the aspirations of its people.

He stressed that Bahrain’s distinguished democratic status was not out of the blue, but was the fruitful outcome of a sound policy and an advanced strategic vision put forward by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa through the inauguration of the Royal Reform Project in 2001.

Al Mulla was speaking marking the International Day of Democracy, observed worldwide on September 15. The event was approved by the UN General Assembly in 2007 for the purpose of promoting and upholding the principles of democracy, preserving freedom and human righst and achieving human development.

The speaker affirmed the great importance of the International Day of Democracy to peoples all over the world, noting that it is an opportunity for peoples to celebrate the values of freedom, human rights respect and free and transparent elections.

He stressed that the kingdom has made clear and steadfast strides towards strengthening the pillars of democratic rule based on its respect for human rights, recognition of basic rights, including mainly the freedom to join political societies, the freedom of expression and opinion, access to and exercise of power within the rule of the law, holding free and transparent elections that reflect the will of the people, separation of powers, independence of the judiciary, provision of fairness and accountability in public administration and the existence of media outlets that enjoy freedom, diversity and independence.

Al-Mulla stressed that the kingdom, thanks to the wisdom of its leadership and cohesion of its people, is capable of facing misleading campaigns aimed at tarnishing its human rights reputation, impeding its democratic march and undermine its bright future in this regard.

He pointed out that the kingdom’s democratic process is set to move forward with the 2018 legislative and municipal elections.

Source: BNA