MANAMA, Bahrain --It took Tom Hayden 14 years, two months and four days to go from being one of the leaders at the demonstrations that disrupted the 1968 Democratic presidential convention to his trial as one of the Chicago Seven to winning a seat in the California state assembly in 1982. But just as the ways to campaign and communicate have accelerated since then, so has the time frame from going from leading a huge street protest to being elected to the government you were protesting against.
So say hello to Ali Abbas Shamtoot, 34, former security guard at the Ministry of Education and owner of a mini-bus service who today finds himself a newly elected member of the Bahrain parliament, representing Constituency Four, Capital Governorate.
Shamtoot's photo was plastered throughout the media as a leader in the demonstrations that rocked Bahrain in February and March. The government's crackdown to those demonstrations triggered the leading opposition group in parliament to resign its 18 seats. That prompted the just held by-elections to fill those seats, and seven months and 10 days after he was a leading face in the street protests Shamtoot was elected to parliament.
There is irony in his election. Political groups who oppose the government and demonstrated told people to boycott the election. They underscored that by doing their best to block access to polls and scare voters. It worked -- voter turnout was much lower that historical levels.
But the election went on and now there are 18 new members of parliament in seats once held by the main opposition, including a record number of women. Many have already begun their work, striking independent positions, calling on the government to enact reform and disdaining the mean streets approach to problem solving and democracy.
Thus it appears that Shamtoot not only ignored the boycott called for by his comrades but he actually ran for office.
Besides being a one-time protest leader, he also is distinctive in the photos of the winners that ran in newspapers. All others are dressed up in traditional garb or business clothes; Shamtoot is wearing a t-shirt in a photo that eerily resembles mug shots used by U.S. tabloid television shows of the latest celebrity to get pinched by the police.
Shamtoot's election is just one more example of the surprises that came from the by-election. He and other wild cards have the potential to greatly energize the parliament. It could be a classic lemons to lemonade story.
The three newly elected females, for example, said they were not going to join any blocs in parliament, but would work independently and cooperate with all colleagues for the benefit of Bahrain, including helping women socially, economically and politically. They won despite emails from clerics warning that anyone voting for a woman would be consigned to Hell.
Another newly elected member, Ali Hassan Ali, told reporters that hard work to improve the country starts now, as it is not the time to sit back and remain passive. "This is now the starting point and it is important that we work even harder now to build our country for the future and for our people," he said.
Another new member, Jamal Mohammed Abdulla, concurred. "I am very positive about the new parliament, as members are more independent and not politically aligned to a group or society, therefore their views are not dictated by any outside influence," he told reporters. "They have free will and minds to decide what is right for the country and the Bahraini people. We also have a lot of technocrats, which is important as we need to push people with wider perspectives into the political sphere. The selection in parliament is much better with more variety."
It will be fascinating to watch.
Perhaps worth remembering are the words of Hayden when he left office in 2000 because of term limits. His last day was filled with praise from colleagues from all sides. They noted how they voted against his ideas more than anyone else, but saluted him for keeping them honest and working with everyone in trying to find solutions.
Hayden said his greatest challenge as a legislator was balancing his values -- as a person who questions authority -- with the need to win enough votes to get his bills passed.
He said his time in Sacramento had taught him that "all great ideas don't come from my head" and that compromise and dialogue can lead to meaningful change.
We will see if Shamtoot and the other new members find that right translation for that guidance.
Tom Squitieri is a journalist and is also working with the Bahrain government on media awareness.
Follow Tom Squitieri on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TomSquitieri
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