His Royal Highness, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain, met earlier this month with government ministers to ensure continued progress on the implementation of the political National Dialogue reforms.
The meeting between the HRH the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers set in motion the start of necessary legislative and legal measures needed to implement the National Dialogue reforms. Procedure requires the cabinet ministers to approve a report on the implementation process, which the Prime Minister will then submit to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The political reforms that were discussed include; the shifting of the role of Chairman of the National Committee that presides over Parliament from the Upper House (the Shura Council) to the elected House of Representatives, a review of voting districts to make sure the constituencies are fairly represented, an implementation of stricter guidelines for appointment to the Shura Council, and an increase of the legislative and regulatory powers of the House of Representatives.
These National Dialogue recommendations will serve to increase the powers of parliament and its members by granting greater legislative power and the ability to more closely monitor and scrutinize the government.
