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Manama: Parliament hopeful Shaikh Salman Bin Saqr Al Khalifa, the royal to run in the elections this year, yesterday said that he would not withdraw from the race even if there was pressure from the ruling family.
"I will not change my mind and I will carry on with my plans to serve the country and the people because I am confident that I will win my constituency," Shaikh Salman said at the media centre set up by the information ministry in Manama.
"I will be getting about 4,500 of the 8,000 votes and that will be enough for me to be the winner," he said.
His main opponent is the outgoing speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Khalifa Al Dhahrani, a veteran politician who was a member of the first parliament in 1973 and who enjoys public support from Islamist societies.
But Shaikh Salman said that he too had the support of thousands of people, including about 90 per cent of the members of his family.
The former defence officer, now retired, said that he hoped his decision to contest the elections would stimulate other members of the ruling families in the Gulf countries to contest national elections and "end a tradition of not running in public polls".
"They should be able to defend people's rights and interests," he said.
Shaikh Salman added that his decision to withdraw from the historic race in 2002 was to give his opponent Al Dhahrani a chance to prove himself particularly that as a member of the 1973 parliament he had only two years in the legislative body before the government dissolved it.
Now, Shaikh Salman wants to demonstrate his own capabilities to serve the nation and protect people's interests.
He rejected charges that he was a turncoat who, this time, pretended to oppose the government in order to win popular support.
"I am not against the government, and I have always praised Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa. However, I do oppose some of the ministers who are not up to their responsibilities and duties," he said.
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