But that did not stop the NJM member from running in Bahrain’s 2006 parliamentary elections after the courts dropped the charges.

Khan failed to secure a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, Bahrain’s Lower House elected by citizens, but parliamentary and municipal elections are once again approaching, expected sometime before the Haj (pilgrimage) begins in November.

NJM is once again expected to run alleged terror suspects, including former Guantanamo Bay detainees, as part of its electoral campaign.

NJM, also known as Al Adala Society, was founded in 2006 in the city of Muharraq and is the nation’s largest secular political party. NJM has been vocal and active in supporting the resistance in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Party leaders say they have a few surprises in store for this election, and the party is expected to announce the list of candidates it will back in the coming weeks.

“There will be two special candidates we are planning to put on our list of candidates,” said Abdulla Hashim, general-secretary of the Society.

Two former Guantanamo Bay detainees and active NJM members, Issa Al-Murbati and Adel Kamal, are likely candidates to be roped into the hectic publicity campaign in the upcoming elections.

“They may be involved for our campaigns, but I do not want to disclose further information at this moment,” responds Hashim, NJM general secretary and a lawyer who has worked on several terror suspect cases in the past.

Earlier this week, NJM members held a meeting to discuss election plans and the party’s candidate list. The release of all Bahrainis detained in neighboring Gulf states on alleged terror charges is high on NJM’s agenda in these elections, as is inflation and demands for higher wages.

Bahrain’s election rules stipulate that people sentenced to over six months in prison are disqualified from the race. In the case of Al-Murbati and Kamal, both were accused along with four other Bahrainis by US officials on charges of terrorism and recruiting for Al-Qaeda, fighting for the Taleban in Afghanistan and association with the Philippine separatist group Abu Sayyaf. The men have denied all accusations.

In the upcoming elections, NJM will be competing against two of the strongest Sunni political blocs — Al Asalah Islamic Society and Al Menbar National Islamic Society.

NJM, Al Asalah and Al Menbar are all  expected to field candidates in constituencies with high Sunni populations in the bastions of Muharraq and most parts of Riffa in the Southern Governorate of Bahrain.

The two Sunni blocs are already discussing a possible power-sharing agreement, mainly in Muharraq. Al Asalah and the Al Menbar cooperated in the last two parliamentary elections in 2002 and 2006, distributing constituencies between them.

NJM could end up forming an alliance with any one of the contending parties, considering its mixture of progressive politics, anti-sectarianism and Arab nationalism.

Al Asalah has eight members in the 40-seat lower chamber, whereas Al Menbar holds seven seats. Al Wefaq is the largest Shiite political and religious group with 17 members in Parliament.

Bahrain, a close US ally, has a bicameral legislature, meaning it has two chambers or houses — The Chamber of Deputies elected by citizens and the Shoura (Consultative) Council whose members are appointed by King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa. Each house has 40 members, who serve a four-year term.