Bahrain MPs call for extending validity of Parliamentary queries

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

When MPs ask a question, it needs to be answered. You can’t just dodge it by saying, “Time’s up.” This is crucial for ensuring the accountability of government officials in Bahrain.

But for now, this isn’t happening, despite the relevance of questions raised in the public interest. Reason: The duration of each parliamentary session is insufficient to address all inquiries. The new proposal aims to address this issue by granting ministers sufficient time to respond.

Saying so, MPs also point out that this is the practice followed by parliaments around the world. If there are unanswered questions, they will allow them to carry forward to the next session.

However, this is not happening in Bahrain. MPs also drew attention to parliaments in Kuwait and the UAE, where this approach was successfully implemented.

They highlight that the Kuwaiti National Assembly and the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates currently follow this practice.

Bahrain too will have this privilege if MPs approve this proposal, which will come up for voting at their Tuesday session.

This will be done by amending Article 143 of Decree-Law No. 54 of 2002 concerning internal regulations of the Parliament.

  The focus is on avoiding the dismissal of questions at the end of each session, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the parliamentary questioning tool.

Proponents of this proposal include Abdulnabi Salman, Dr. Mahdi Al Showaikh, Eman Showaiter, Mamdouh Al Saleh, and Basma Mubarak.

They suggest extending the duration of parliamentary questions until the end of the legislative term instead of their current expiration upon the conclusion of the parliamentary session.

The argument is that granting ministers sufficient time to respond would empower the parliamentary questioning process.

The questions would thus remain valid until the end of the legislative term, as is the case in other countries worldwide.

MPs point out that the current legislation has dismissed a significant number of parliamentary questions, thereby curbing the rights of deputies to exercise this crucial privilege.

Citing statistics, MPs state that around 12% of the total questions submitted were dismissed in the past four legislative terms.

They point out the possibility of eliminating a considerable number of questions, as the duration of each parliamentary session is often insufficient to address all inquiries.

The memorandum argues that this practice lacks justification, as most parliaments worldwide allow questions that remain unanswered to be carried over to the following session.