Bahrain's main Shi'ite opposition group demanded a new constitution for the Gulf Arab country, witnessing a third day protests on Wednesday, in which the government would be elected by the people.
The island kingdom, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has seen two protesters killed in anti-government protests this week inspired by popular upheavals in Egypt and Tunisia.
Shi’ite opposition group Wefaq initially stopped short of endorsing street protests that began on Bahrain’s "Day of Rage" on Monday, but then suspended its participation in parliament on Tuesday after the deaths.
"We’re not looking for a religious state. We’re looking for a civilian democracy … in which people are the source of power, and to do that we need a new constitution," the group’s general secretary Sheikh Ali Salman told a news conference.
Bahrain’s king introduced a new constitution a decade ago to quell widespread Shi’ite unrest of the 1990s. But many Shi’ites feel it only served to co-opt them into the political system without giving them a say in the country’s affairs and improve their chances to access government jobs.
Currently, the government is appointed by the king and about two-thirds of ministers are from the ruling al-Khalifa family. Bahrain has an elected parliament, in which Wefaq has 18 seats.
But the assembly has limited powers as its bills need to pass an upper house whose members are appointed by the king.
Salman did not detail conditions for Wefaq to return to parliament but said Bahrain’s king needed to state his agreement to converting Bahrain into a constitutional monarchy and provide a specific timetable.
Bahrain has a majority Shi’ite population and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and the United States view its Sunni ruling family as a bulwark against the influence of Shi’ite power Iran, in particular after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 to a Shi’ite government there.
A Shi’ite prime minister elected by the people in Bahrain would likely further trouble Riyadh.
The Bahraini government has said it would investigate the death of the two protesters but has not yet responded to Wefaq’s boycott of parliament. Salman said there were no formal talks yet between the government and the group.
While the protests have so far been mostly organised by internet activists and smaller opposition groups, Salman said Wefaq and other political groups are calling for a protest in Manama on Saturday.
Khalil Marzooq, a member of parliament for Wefaq, told reporters that youth movements in the Arab world were driving politics but that in Bahrain agreements between Shi’ite opposition groups and the government on a constitution could end protests.
"I still think we have control over the scene," he said. Protesters also demand the release of political detainees and the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has governed Bahrain since independence in 1971.
