BCCI poll: Al Ghad bloc campaigns in Batman style

Manama : With behind-the-scene campaign snippets on social media, selfies at souqs, and an ubiquitous batman-themed video, Al Ghad bloc is determined to woo voters with youth power for the upcoming Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) election on March 10. 

Eighteen seats are up for grabs in this election with 30,742 businesspersons registered as voters among the 100,000 eligible CR holders. 

In the biggest-ever BCCI election to be conducted, 72 candidates including 12 women will vie to be members of the powerful BCCI board. The candidates form a mix of the old and young, sitting members and first timers, legacy businessmen and new entrepreneurs. For Al Ghad, this election is about presenting a forward-looking dream for Bahrain, which has moved beyond oil, and seeking economic opportunities in a new world. 

“There is not enough youth represented, 50 per cent of Bahrainis are under the age of 30,” says Al Ghad member Hamed Fakhro, an original contributor to the Startup Bahrain initiative. The coalition’s 11-member team’s median age is 41. The team is a curious mix of young people, the youngest at 32 and the oldest aged 48. 

“We need to protect the gains we had,” said Al Ghad member Hatim Dadabai, whose Bahrain Institute of Hospitality & Retail has trained around 8500 Bahrainis for the hospitality market. He said they have already had discussions with other international commerce chambers for partnerships and opportunities for Bahrainis. Asked about the social and economic changes in Saudi Arabia, he said, “If Saudi does well we will do well.”

Apart from running family businesses, the members have been in banking, real estate, organizing startups, running kickstarter campaigns, involved in psychotherapy for young people and also gaming enthusiasts. Among them are speakers and poets. 

“We all face the same socio-economic political problems around the world,” said Hamed Fakhro. “We have a list of every single problems in every sector,” he added while detailing the cross section of businesspersons they have met across sectors. “What more problems do you have, is what we ask,” he said. 

Apart from house visits, meeting people in their shops, organizing community business meetings, Al Ghad has also launched an out of the box social media campaign. The batman-theme video clocking around 29,000 views only on instagram, features the candidates, walking out of their work places into a Gotham City-like night. There is light from the horizon, shining, suggesting the coalition’s slogan, “Start Tomorrow Today.”

Al Ghad proposes from fresh ideas if voted to power, like pushing for every civil servant to own a CR without prior permission from their employer, an open majlis every month, sending talented locals to Silicon Valley and Hollywood, and clean tech using solar. 

“We are shifting to a entrepreneurial economy,” said Hamed Fakhro, “ and the seeds of that culture has been sown.” 

Apart from 23 independent candidates, five coalitions are contesting the elections –  Taawon, Tojjar, Sharaka, the Central Business Owners Committee, and Al Ghad