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Egyptian jurist, was approached and asked if he would visit Bahrain and then advise on drafting
amendments to the Code which would make it more acceptable, also it was suggested that he
should advise on the preparation of a Civil Code and possibly a Code on Criminal Procedure.
He agreed to undertake this task, for a very considerable fee, half of which he insisted should be
paid in advance. Throughout the year there was correspondence between His Highness and
Dr. Sanhouri, and Mr. Salim al Araydh, Registrar of the Bahrain Courts, visited Cairo to discuss
the matter on behalf of the Government but by the end of the year Dr. Sanhouri had still
failed to put in an appearance in Bahrain and showed no signs of being prepared to come.
The Government considered it essential that the expert who was to draft laws for Bahrain
should first visit the country and study local conditions on the spot. This point had been
emphasised from the beginning of the negotiations and once or twice, early in the year, Dr.
Sanhouri had indicated that he was coming to Bahrain.
It was discovered that Dr. Sanhouri had appointed a panel of so-called legal experts in
Cairo who were to produce an entirely new penal code, though this was nof the object or wish
of the Government. The Higher Executive Committee who had strongly advocated the
employment of Dr. Sanhouri and who had sent some of their members to see him in Cairo,
lost all interest in the matter and after a lime, somewhat pointedly, avoided all reference to him
or to the Code in their letters and notices.
During the disturbances in November and afterwards much of the Code was approved by
His Highness and made law, the parts of the Code about which there had been reasonable
criticism were left for revision at a later date.

MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT, 1919-56
The Manama Municipality, the first form of local government in Bahrain, was founded in
1919 under the presidency of Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa. As usual there was strong opposition to
the new project but it was overcome and soon subsided. In 1920 Shaikh Hamcd bin Isa
became President and held the post until 1929 when his brother Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa
took his place. Shaikh Hamcd retired because it was not suitable that the ruling Shaikh
should also be the President of the Manama Municipal Council ; his presence was regarded as
giving the decisions of the Council the effect of law. In 1937 Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa again
took over the presidency until 1956 when His Highness appointed his eldest son, Shaikh Isa,
to the post.
Originally there were eight members on the Council nominated by the Shaikh. In 1926
a new constitution was drawn up, much of which is now obsolete and in need of revision,
providing for ten elected members and ten nominated members. It had been the custom to
include representatives of different sects and different nationalities, for example a Sunni Persian
and a Shia Persian, a Hindu and a Moslem Indian, Sunni Arabs and Shia Arabs. The election
of representatives was left in the hands of the various communities with the result that usually
a leading man produced a number of dubious thumb-prints on sheets of paper which was
accepted as a sign that his people wished him to represent them. Only if conflicting personal
interests existed was there any competition.
All persons who paid not less than a certain sum in house or shop tax were entitled to vote,
at a later stage women who possessed the necessary qualifications were given a vote, this being
the first instance of female suffrage in the Persian Gulf.
In 1945 the method of elections was changed. Representation of different sects and
nationalities was abolished. The towns were divided into wards with as far as possible about
the same population in each ward and each ward was allotted one or two members. Candidates
were asked to come forward and stand for their wards—anybody owning property in the ward
and possessing the other necessary qualifications was entitled to seek election. It was very
difficult, however, to persuade candidates to come forward and to face what they regarded as
the ignominious possibility of not being returned. Eventually elections were held and the new
system proved workable. Lists of people entitled to vote were published ; voting cards were
issued and on the election day the public dropped the cards into sealed ballot boxes under the
candidates names at centres in each district. The cards were counted by an impartial com­
mittee. This method continued successfully until the bitter dissention between Sunnis and
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Shias led to the resignation of all the Shia members of the Manama Council.