Manama: Islamists have consolidated their domination of the Council of Representatives after they added six seats to the 24 they secured in the first round on November 25.

The remaining ten seats in the 40-member Council were taken by liberals following another dismal performance by the leftist National Democratic Action Society 'Waad' who failed to win despite the presence of high-calibre candidates Abdul Rahman Al Nuaimi and Ebrahim Shareef.

Al Wefaq Society has taken the lion's share with 17 seats ( 42.5 per cent) and a robust alliance with independent business analyst Abdul Aziz Abul who on Saturday overwhelmed another independent Abdul Hakeem Al Shimmari.

Al Menbar, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, is now the second largest bloc with seven seats ( 17.07 per cent). But its close association with the Salafi Al Asala Society which holds five seats (12.5 per cent) gives their Sunni alliance 12 seats (30 per cent).

The conservative Sunni coalition is set to benefit from its close relations with most of the 10 independents (25 per cent), all Sunnis, whose campaigns, particularly in the second round, were extensively supported by Al Menbar and Al Asala keen on countering Al Wefaq's outstanding performance.

By denying Waad candidates Abdul Rahman Al Nuaimi, Ebrahim Shareef and Sami Al Siyadi the opportunity to enter the parliament, Al Menbar and Al Asala deprived Al Wefaq of the simple majority it sought to have in parliament.

The two religious societies also reinforced the presence of Sunni deputies in an increasingly sect-sensitive council where the competition for the key posts of council deputy and committee heads is expected to be fierce.

Influential leaders from Al Wefaq, Al Menbar and Al Asala on Saturday threw their weight behind their candidates and allies, making visits to the polling stations and offering supporters morale-boosting encouragement.

Elections spokesperson Ahdeya Ahmad said that the participation turnout in the second and final round was 69 per cent, up from 43 per cent in 2002.

The voting at 11 regular and 10 general polling stations went generally smoothly, although all camps voiced complaints of irregularities by their opponents.

They included attempts to influence voters by distributing pictures of the candidates and holding small but vociferous rallies near the polling centres.

"It was rather smooth inside the polling station, although outside both camps broke several rules," Bahrain Human Rights Society monitor Dr Sabeeka Al Najjar told Gulf News at the Qalali centre where liberal Al Nuaimi and Islamist Eisa Abul Fath were vying for votes.

The failure of Waad and its heavyweights Al Nuaimi and Shareef to enter parliament, coupled with similar defeat at the municipal elections, intensifies the anguish about the future of liberalism in Bahrain.

"We understand that Islamists have made new inroads in Bahrain, but the fact that only one liberal, Abdul Aziz Abul, made it to the parliament and largely thanks to a religious society, is rather worrying," columnist Saeed Al Hamad told Gulf News. "Bahrain has been a real leader in promoting liberal thinking and we should hate to see this vibrant movement stalled."

Women's woes continued with a new alarming defeat in Bahrain's second elections in about three decades.

Although 18 women ran in the elections, only Lateefa Al Gaood, who was narrowly beaten in a 2002 round-off, made it to parliament, becoming the first woman in the Gulf to win in a general election. Her win, however, is essentially due to the fact that she ran unchallenged in her constituency.

Women activists now say that only a quota system would break the tight all males-voting process, but officials reject the idea.