Al Wafaq withdrew from Bahrain’s national reconciliation talks for several reasons. First, the leaders of the party felt that the talks are not serious in nature and the government is not looking for reform but is trying to put on a show.

In other words, the main reason behind Al Wafaq’s reluctance to continue the talks is because the role of the group as the most popular party in Bahrain has been neglected by the government. In fact, any tangible result of such a negotiation is a product of direct talks between these two sides.
In any case, the show is similar to a general conference with the presence of about 300 different characters, mostly from the government. There are only 35 seats in the conference dedicated to Al Wafaq members, while other seats are filled with black troops. Therefore, from Al Wafaq’s perspective, it is by no means a fair share, and the position of the party as the largest political group on the Island has been completely neglected.
The other point is that in such a conference, even if there were more room for Al Wafaq, the views expressed by the leaders of the party would not be heard at all. As we witnessed in the early days of the negotiations, only a few minutes were dedicated to the representatives of the group to express their views, and they were quickly dismissed by government supporters.
All this demonstrates that the Bahraini government is performing an absurd show of illusionary reforms in the country; it is not interested in implementing the real process of reform expected by the people and political parties.
Now that Al Wafaq has completely withdrawn from the talks, the continuation of the ceremony cannot be regarded as a dialogue, but rather a monologue in which the government of Bahrain is repeating its old rhetoric.
Naturally, in the current critical situation, Bahrain needs comprehensive talks; reaching tangible results is possible only through the framework of a bilateral and peaceful dialogue. Otherwise, the current situation will certainly result in failure.
Mohammad Ali Mohtadi is an established journalist and Middle East expert based in Tehran