Manama: With Bahrain’s unblemished record for hosting fair, free and impartial parliamentary elections in the past, the State Minister for Information Sameera Rajab ruled out the need of having international monitors on the ground during the general elections set for November 22nd.
Minister Ms Rajab, who is also Government’s Official Spokesperson, said that she was confident about the capacity and capability of the local human rights organizations, transparency society and overall civil society to ensure the transparency during the general polls 2014.
The Minister was speaking as she hosted a media luncheon at the Information Affairs Authority and said that journalists and media will be given a full access to cover the general elections in the Kingdom.
“We will continue to raise awareness about the importance of democracy and elections, train journalists and media personnel, raise awareness on the rights of voters and candidates, facilitate elections procedures for both voters and candidates providing the highest levels of transparency on the elections for both the local and international communities.
From time to time, false information, rumors and false news, whether via social networks or via some media abroad are published. Such information aims to anger certain segments of the society and does not bring the country any good. Therefore, we would like to emphasize that the reforms project of His Majesty the King is progressing steadily, and the coming legislative and municipal elections are evidence of the level of civilization and openness of Kingdom of Bahrain and its real involvement in a flawless democratic process,” she explained.
“I would like to invite you all to play your roles as journalists and media personnel in raising the awareness in the society on the importance of enhancing the election process by providing the society with accurate information and being committed to the ethics of media coverage throughout this important occasion,” the Minister said.
“A journalist or media personnel may not be 100 percent unbiased. We are human after all. We should all however unite in our love towards our country, and in our contribution to make the coming phase successful in our history such as making the elections successful,” she said.