Manama: The Kingdom of Bahrain has rewritten a new political history at the end of the fourth parliamentary elections to elect 40-member lower house on Saturday with turnout reaching 51.5 per cent, according to the Justice Minister.
“Bahrain has achieved yet another milestone in its political journey by holding uninterrupted elections with polling extended from 12 hours to 14 hours to accommodate the long queues of citizens who were present at polling stations to cast their ballot on Saturday,” Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa told a Press Conference.
The turnout for municipal elections was even high to 53.7% and in case of rerun of elections, the polling will be held on next Saturday for the candidates for parliament who failed to secure the minimum 50% of the votes.
The rerun of the elections will be notified after the formal counting and ratification by the High Council comprised of judges in each of three governorates.
Shaikh Khalid was joined by the State Minister for Information and Government’s Official Spokesperson Sameera Rajab and Head of the Elections Committee Abdulla Al Buainain during the Press conference announcing the provisional results of the parliamentary and municipal elections.
The Minister said that the overwhelming response to the national elections was a reflective of the public’s endorsement to the political reforms unveiled by His Majesty the King and supported by HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman, the Prime Minister and Prince Salman bin Hamad, the Crown Prince and the 1st Deputy Premier.
“The enthusiasm has been incredible in urban areas as well as in villages among general public who rejected the politics of boycott and chose to participate in the evolving democratic process in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” he said, adding that now the 51.5% people who elected the new parliament has to shape up the political future of the country.
“In the coming days and months the changes will unfold for Bahrain’s good future as this is what the political culture is all about. Democracy is a practice of certain norms and it is continuous process,” he added.
Al Wefaq, which is pulled out from the elections 2014, on Saturday rejected the election authority’s claims that there will be a record turnout during the polling for the election 2014 set to close in few minutes.
Bahrainis are electing the fourth parliamentary house during an elections which had been overshadowed by the opposition calls to boycott them urging people don’t participate in the general polls. However, many Shia’s candidates who are contesting for the parliament and municipal seats are a real setback for opposition parties like Al Wefaq.
The Minister of Justice said that when all segments of the society participated in the elections the turnout was 67.7% and now with their boycott the turnout is 51.5% and hope that politics of boycott will also become history.