Home
Politics
Justice Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ali al-Khalifa, head of the electoral commission, estimated turnout of "at least 67 percent," compared with 72 percent in 2006 and 53.4 percent in 2002.
As counting began, some people complained that their names had been missing on the voters' lists, but senior officials dismissed such claims as commonplace.
"There are no elections in the world without complaints," said Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa.
"There are countries where polling stations close due to violence... We've got none of that in Bahrain, and voters vote freely and smoothly," he added, calling it "a great indicator that our democracy is going in the right track."
Some 292 observers from Bahraini non-governmental organisations are monitoring the third ballot since the restoration of parliament after a 27-year suspension, with about 318,000 Bahrainis eligible to vote.
Foreign observers were barred from overseeing the process.
First results were expected during the night, with the final outcome due to be announced on Sunday.
In an open challenge to the pro-Western Al-Khalifa family, which has ruled Bahrain since 1783, top Shiite cleric and MP Sheikh Ali Salman said authority should be shared.
"It is unacceptable that power be monopolised by a single family, even one to which we owe respect and consideration," said the head of the Shiite mainstream Islamic National Accord Association (INAA).
"We look forward to the day when any child of the people, be they Sunni or Shiite, can become prime minister," he told a closing campaign rally.
Voters were able to choose from 127 candidates, eight of them women, to elect the 40-member parliament, while the king names the members of a 40-strong upper chamber or consultative council.
INAA, the main Shiite opposition group, which scored a sweeping victory in 2006 by winning 17 parliamentary seats, fielded 18 candidates on Saturday.
Despite the reforms passed in a 2001 referendum which restored a parliament dissolved in 1975, King Hamad's uncle, Prince Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, has served as prime minister since independence from Britain in 1971.
On Saturday, Prince Khalifa pledged to cooperate with the legislative authority, but dismissed the presence of an opposition in Bahrain.
"We do not have an opposition. We have one people with different opinions. We are not one of those countries that have oppositions," he said as he voted in Manama.
The archipelago state was plagued in the 1990s by a wave of Shiite-led unrest which has abated since the steps launched to convert the emirate into a constitutional monarchy.
On Wednesday, cleric Salman roused the crowd as he listed his community's grievances against a regime accused of discrimination against the Shiites and of working to tip the demographic balance by naturalising foreign Sunnis.
The crowd reacted in unison in a scene reminiscent of rallies by Lebanon's Iran-backed Shiite militant movement Hezbollah.
"The Shiites of Bahrain are loyal only to Bahrain," Salman later told AFP in a bid to dismiss charges that Bahraini Shiites are loyal to co-religionist Iran and serve its interests in the Gulf.
Ahead of the legislative and municipal polls, a wave of arrests of Shiite political activists drew warnings from international human rights watchdogs of a drift back to full-blown authoritarianism.
The foreign minister insisted the arrests were "not linked to elections."
On Thursday, Bahrain said Interpol had circulated arrest warrants for two Shiite opposition leaders living in London, days before they are due to go on trial in absentia as part of a group of 23 on terror charges.
Bahrain's parliament has the authority to examine and pass legislation proposed by the king or cabinet and also has monitoring powers, while the consultative council has the power to block legislation coming out of the lower house.
Sunni and Shiite Islamists dominated the outgoing parliament, with Sunni Islamist groups holding 12 seats in addition to INAA's 17.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As counting began, some people complained that their names had been missing on the voters' lists, but senior officials dismissed such claims as commonplace.
"There are no elections in the world without complaints," said Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa.
"There are countries where polling stations close due to violence... We've got none of that in Bahrain, and voters vote freely and smoothly," he added, calling it "a great indicator that our democracy is going in the right track."
Some 292 observers from Bahraini non-governmental organisations are monitoring the third ballot since the restoration of parliament after a 27-year suspension, with about 318,000 Bahrainis eligible to vote.
Foreign observers were barred from overseeing the process.
First results were expected during the night, with the final outcome due to be announced on Sunday.
In an open challenge to the pro-Western Al-Khalifa family, which has ruled Bahrain since 1783, top Shiite cleric and MP Sheikh Ali Salman said authority should be shared.
"It is unacceptable that power be monopolised by a single family, even one to which we owe respect and consideration," said the head of the Shiite mainstream Islamic National Accord Association (INAA).
"We look forward to the day when any child of the people, be they Sunni or Shiite, can become prime minister," he told a closing campaign rally.
Voters were able to choose from 127 candidates, eight of them women, to elect the 40-member parliament, while the king names the members of a 40-strong upper chamber or consultative council.
INAA, the main Shiite opposition group, which scored a sweeping victory in 2006 by winning 17 parliamentary seats, fielded 18 candidates on Saturday.
Despite the reforms passed in a 2001 referendum which restored a parliament dissolved in 1975, King Hamad's uncle, Prince Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, has served as prime minister since independence from Britain in 1971.
On Saturday, Prince Khalifa pledged to cooperate with the legislative authority, but dismissed the presence of an opposition in Bahrain.
"We do not have an opposition. We have one people with different opinions. We are not one of those countries that have oppositions," he said as he voted in Manama.
The archipelago state was plagued in the 1990s by a wave of Shiite-led unrest which has abated since the steps launched to convert the emirate into a constitutional monarchy.
On Wednesday, cleric Salman roused the crowd as he listed his community's grievances against a regime accused of discrimination against the Shiites and of working to tip the demographic balance by naturalising foreign Sunnis.
The crowd reacted in unison in a scene reminiscent of rallies by Lebanon's Iran-backed Shiite militant movement Hezbollah.
"The Shiites of Bahrain are loyal only to Bahrain," Salman later told AFP in a bid to dismiss charges that Bahraini Shiites are loyal to co-religionist Iran and serve its interests in the Gulf.
Ahead of the legislative and municipal polls, a wave of arrests of Shiite political activists drew warnings from international human rights watchdogs of a drift back to full-blown authoritarianism.
The foreign minister insisted the arrests were "not linked to elections."
On Thursday, Bahrain said Interpol had circulated arrest warrants for two Shiite opposition leaders living in London, days before they are due to go on trial in absentia as part of a group of 23 on terror charges.
Bahrain's parliament has the authority to examine and pass legislation proposed by the king or cabinet and also has monitoring powers, while the consultative council has the power to block legislation coming out of the lower house.
Sunni and Shiite Islamists dominated the outgoing parliament, with Sunni Islamist groups holding 12 seats in addition to INAA's 17.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
