Manama: Bahraini voted on Saturday to elect their parliamentary and municipal representatives for the sixth time in 20 years.
More than 500 candidates contest the 40 parliamentary and 30 municipal council seats. Around 350,000 Bahrainis are eligible to vote.
“The participation is good. I’m happy to see citizens seize the opportunity to take part in the constitutional duty,”
Minister of Interior Lieutenant General Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa told Gulf News after he cast his vote at the Bahrain Summit international circuit polling centre. “I’m happy and proud to see more female candidates this year,” he noted.
A record 94 female candidates are running in this election, more than double that of the last elections in 2018.
This year also saw more younger candidates than ever before, joining independent candidates and representatives of different political societies in the contest.
“I’m happy to see young voters stand in lines to vote and show their eagerness to take part in this process,” Minister of Justice Nawaf Al Mouawda, who heads the supreme committee of election integrity, told the media. “So far, at mid-day, I can report that the participation is outstanding, and the process is going smoothly”, he added.
“We haven’t received any complaints from candidates or voters concerning the voting process”, he added.
The 2022 polls were Bahrain’s sixth elections since 2001, when King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa launched a national reforms programme.
