Page 326 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

4G

MUNICIPALITIES
Development of Municipal Institutions.—The Manama Municipality is the longest
established public body in Bahrain ; it was founded in 1339 (1919) under the presidency of Shaikh
Abdulla bin Isa and, as is usual in Bahrain, it was strongly opposed in the beginning by most of the
citizens of Manama. Originally the council consisted of a President, Vice-President, eight members,
who were appointed by the Ruler, and a Secretary. The first Secretary was an Indian and most
of the councillors were foreigners. In those days foreigners were more progressive in municipal affairs
than the local Arabs, to-day, in such matters, there is little difference in their outlook. In 1340 (1920)
Shaikh Ilamed bin Isa became president of the council, with Khan Bahadur Mohammed Shcrif,
an important Persian merchant, who afterwards became spectacularly bankrupt, as Vice-President.
Until 1345 (1926) the council was appointed by the Government but that year the constitution was
changed, the council was enlarged to 20 members of whom 10 were Government nominees and 10
were supposed to be elected by those citizens of Manama who were qualified to vote. Councillors
were required to own property within the municipal area and they had to be respectable persons, neither
bankrupts or previously convicted of crimes. The members represented not the different districts
of the town but the different religious and national communities, they included Sunni Arabs, Sunni
Persians, Shia Arabs, Shia Persians, Nejdis, Hindus, Moslem Indians and Jews. Householders paying
not less than a certain sum in municipal taxes were entitled to vote, but the elections were very bogus
and consisted of would-be members producing sheets of paper covered with thumb prints purporting
to be the signatures of the people of their community who desired their election. For many years
the same people were elected year after year, in fact a seat on the council came to be regarded as a
family prerogative.
The last irregular election was in 1345 (1926) and a year later happenings occurred which made
it necessary for the Government to dissolve the council and to dismiss several of the municipal officials.
A new election was held after a register of electors had been prepared and votes were made by ballot
in the presence of a committee in the municipal building. Each voter wrote the name of his candidate
on a slip and dropped it into the ballot box but as most of the voters were illiterate the clerks who
wrote the names for the voters on the slips had an opportunity of influencing the votes. It was found
that the Indian and Jewish communities did not possess the necessary qualifications entitling them to
representation as scarcely any of them owned property in Bahrain. They were allowed, however, to
nominate members subject to the approval of the Government, the Jews agreed to the arrangement
but the Indians refused and since then there have been no elected Indian members in the council.
For the Ruler of the State to be President of the Municipal Council created an invidious position
as all measures approved by the council, over which he presided, were ipso facto approved by the
Government. In 1348 (1929) Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa was appointed President in place of Shaikh
Hamed bin Isa but owing to his frequent and lengthy absences from Bahrain he was succeeded in 1357
(1938-39) by Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa who continues to occupy the post.
Methods of municipal elections were gradually altered but it was not until 1365 (1945) that the
whole system was changed. The town was divided into a number of wards, each represented by one
or more members according to the number of voters living in the area. Candidates were required
to own property in the area for which they proposed to stand and to conform to the regulations about
i qualifications but the principle of different religious sects or nationalities being represented was
abolished. A notice was issued calling on prospective candidates to notify the Government of their
desire to stand, in the beginning there was some hesitation in coming forward because many people
objected to the possibility of losing their elections but after a little encouragement a number of candi­
dates came into the field. Voting slips were issued to all registered voters, different colours being
used in the different wards and on the election day ballot boxes were set up in each district with the
! names of the candidates above them, the voters dropped their cards into the box under the name
of the person who they wished to represent them and at the end of the day the votes were counted
by a committee. The new system worked well and roused more local interest in the municipal elec­
tion than had been seen before. It had first been tried out in Hedd where 90% of the people polled
votes. It was hoped that this time a European member of the community would stand for election,
but nobody did so.