 Shura members have responded by pointing out that an appointed upper chamber is a feature of long established democracies such as the United Kingdom (where the upper chamber has power to delay, but no power to veto legislation) 
and Canada.However, the principle behind the Al Wefaq's boycott, that only elected MPs should have the right to legislate, was undermined when, in response to proposed changes to the family law to give women more rights, Al Wefaq stated that no one except religious leaders had the authority to amend the law because MPs could 'misinterpret the word of God.