ShareMANAMA: Bahrainis headed to the polls Saturday, with more than 330 candidates, including a record 73 women, competing to join the 40-seat council of representatives - the lower house of parliament that advises King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa. This is up from the 293 people - including 41 women - who ran for parliament in the last election in 2018. Lines formed outside some of the kingdom's 55 polling stations before they opened at 8:00 am (0500 GMT). Amina Issa, head of a polling station in Manama, said turnout was "intense since the first hours, and the numbers are steadily increasing".
Bahrainis abroad cast their ballots on Tuesday at 37 embassies and diplomatic missions. A candidate must obtain 51 percent of the votes to win membership in the council of representatives, after which a run-off will be held after few days if none of the candidates obtain this percentage. Municipal council elections also took place, with 175 candidates including 20 women competing for 30 seats, while the government will appoint 10 members.
Elections take place in Bahrain every four years since 2002, and people elect 40 members of the council of representatives from 40 electoral districts. According to the 2002 constitution, Bahraini citizens over the age of 20 have the right to participate in the elections for the House of Representatives, with one vote for each citizen according to their place of residence. As for the municipal elections, citizens of GCC countries have the right to vote if they have permanent residence in Bahrain, while foreigners can vote in the municipal elections if they own real estate or land in Bahrain.
A government spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday that Bahrain was a "vibrant democracy". "The exercise of political rights in Bahrain is protected by the constitution, barring cases where nomination requirements are not met - this is standard practice in all democratic countries," the spokesperson said. "Requirements include not having a criminal record or not belonging to a society dissolved due to their court-proven involvement in acts of violence in contravention of legitimate political activity."
The spokesperson added: "The right to vote too is also a constitutional right, but not an obligation. No one is penalized for choosing not to vote." But the country has barred its two main opposition groups from fielding candidates - Al-Wefaq and Waad, which were dissolved in 2016 and 2017.
A hacking operation on Friday targeted the official elections website as well as websites for parliament and the state news agency, though all three were restored by Saturday afternoon. The interior ministry said on Twitter the sites were "targeted to hinder the elections and circulate negative messages in desperate attempts" to discourage voting. The identity of the hackers was not immediately clear.
Nearly 350,000 people were eligible to vote Saturday. Polling stations closed at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT). "The atmosphere is good. I didn't wait in line for more than 10 minutes," said Nouf Ibrahim, a mother of three in the capital Manama. Justice Minister Nawaf bin Mohammed Al-Maawda said voting was "running smoothly".
Home to 1.4 million people, Bahrain is made up of one large island and around 34 smaller ones situated off the east coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by a causeway. At just 700 sq km, it is the smallest country in the Middle East. Located just across the Gulf from Iran, the island state is a strategic Western ally and normalized ties with the Zionist entity in 2020. It hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, with around 7,800 US military personnel deployed in the country. In 2018, Britain opened its first permanent military base in the Middle East since 1971, near Bahrain's capital Manama where it deploys around 300 troops. - Agencies
