Shia Group Holds Nearly Half the Seats in Round One of Bahrain Elections

Shia Group Holds Nearly Half the Seats in Round One of Bahrain Elections


Bahrain’s first round of elections held on Saturday has resulted in Bahrain’s main Shia opposition group securing  18 out of 40 seats in the country’s parliamentary elections in what was described as elections marred by irregularities. The Wefaq group however, succeeded in retaining all its seats in the first round of the elections.

 The election came amid rising tension between the dominant Sunni Muslim community and the majority Shia Muslims. Bahrain is known to be one of the few Arab states with a Shia majority though it is dominated by Sunni Muslims.

According to the electoral commission, the Shia had gained one seat compared to the 17 it won in the Gulf state’s previous parliamentary elections. Election officials have reported that voter turnout was 67 per cent and Abdullah al-Buainain, the electoral commission chairman, maintained that nine seats are still up for grabs in the second round of voting which is set to take place on October 30 where the precise make-up of the lower house will be decided in the run-off.
 

Despite complaints, Justice Minister Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa said that although there had been a few irregularities, the vote overall had been fair.