Bahrain - Jan 15, 2012 - 10:24

In his speech today, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa promised constitutional amendments to give greater power to the Shura and representative councils.

In response to the King's speech, Abdul Jalil Khalil, head of resigning al-Wefaq bloc of Parliament told Al Jazeera that:

The reforms are just cosmetic. We wanted an elected government and fully elected legislative bodies. These changes are not enough.