Manama: Ahmad Al Mulla, a legal consultant running independently, has become Bahrain's 32nd lawmaker for 2010-2014 after his opponent pulled out of the race on Tuesday evening.

"I have decided to withdraw from the elections and focus on charitable work," Sharek Al Dossari said. "My decision was based on public interest," he said without elaborating.

Al Dossari, also an independent, got 32.24 per cent of the votes in the first round of the parliamentary elections on Saturday, against 30.60 per cent for Al Mulla.

Al Mulla, a first time parliament hopeful, is now the 12th independent lawmaker in the 40-seat lower chamber.

Al Wefaq has 18, making it the largest parliamentary bloc, and Al Asala, the Salafi group, has two. Al Menbar, the Muslim Brotherhood expression that was third bloc in the 2006-2010 chamber, has not secured any seat and looks to Saturday's run-offs where its candidates are competing in five constituencies to salvage some honour after its crushing defeat.