Manama: The first woman who sought to chair the Bahrain Medical Society has called for a probe into the group's board elections, saying they were mismanaged.
"There was chaos during the elections and the tallies do not add up," Dr Ibtisam Al Alawi said in her first statement after her loss in the polls on Friday.
"I want a probe to explain the causes of the confusion that marred the elections, the frequent stoppages in the voting process and the discrepancies between the number of the votes (166) and ballot papers (176)," she said as she submitted a letter to the ministry for social development.
However, Dr Ahmad Jamal, the incumbent chairman and winner of last week's elections, said the elections were fair and credible, citing the official approval of the ministry representative.
Dr Ahmad said that the committee overseeing the elections included members from Dr Ibtisam's supporters.
Several women have chaired NGOs in Bahrain. Huda Nonoo, the current ambassador to the US, was the first woman to head a rights association. The Bahrain Bar Society is chaired by a woman, Jameela Ali Salman.
The government has two women ministers and the bicameral parliament has one elected woman and 10 appointed women.
