Out of 317,900 eligible voters, a large number of Bahrainis exercised their right of franchise. The second round will be held next Saturday in constituencies where no single candidate has emerged as clear winner.  Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs and Head of the Supreme Election Committee Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa said that initial counting revealed that more than 67 per cent of voters cast their votes.

A total of 47 polling stations in the country remained crowded with voters throughout the day. Voting for the parliamentary elections was held from 8am to 8pm while for the municipal polls timing was from 8am to 6pm.

A big turnout was also witnessed at five general polling stations despite the fact that they were opposed by the opposition.

There were 139 parliamentary candidates in the run, including eight women, for 35 seats of the 40-member Lower House after five candidates returned unopposed. In local elections, there were 177 candidates, including three women, competing for 38 seats after two candidates elected unopposed. Big crowds of women, youth and special need people were seen at almost all polling stations, indicating the keenness of these segments to be further empowered. The peaceful election that came two months after a security crackdown was, however,  disturbed by minor incidents which did not affect voting.

The first incident was demonstrations by groups at some polling stations to prevent voters from entering the premises. The General Director of Guard at the Ministry of Interior and General Election Coordinator, Brigadier Abdullah Said Al Nuaimi, told Bahrain TV that security forces tackled these groups and managed to arrest some of them and secured the surrounding areas of polling centres. In another case, voters in the northern and central governorates claimed they were not allowed to caste votes despite the fact that their names were on the electoral list. Largest Shia opposition Al Wefaq Political Society, which fielded more than 30 parliamentary and municipal candidates, confirmed the cases.

In a statement, the society highlighted that hundreds of people in various constituencies were not allowed to vote after being told that their names was not in the voting list.

Al Wefaq demandeda  thorough investigation into the claims of those voters to ascertain whether it had been done on purpose to affect the chances of some candidates.

The Vice-President of National Human Rights Commission, Isa Al Khayat, however, rejected Al Wefaq’s doubts and said that according to the commission observations the integrity of elections was intact.

“Most of the polling stations we visited were crowded with voters and no violations were reported by our team,” he said while highlighting that his team was part of 350 Bahrainis monitoring 2010 elections.

Among early voters was Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. He expressed his happiness on the progress of Bahrain’s democracy and promised full cooperation of the government with the coming parliament.

The 120-year-old Ahmed Abdulla Marbid might be the oldest voter as he came to the polling station with a wooden stick. He told Khaleej Times that he made sure to vote to choose the right candidate that could help his children and grandchildren.

Shaikha Mohammed, a social studies teacher, also caste her vote to exercise her political right. She felt sorry that there was no woman candidate in her constituency and wished for at least one woman to make it to parliament. Shaikha Mohammed voted for the only municipal candidate with special needs to give this segment of society a voice to fight for their rights.

Member of the Election Supervision Committee and General Attorney, Osama Al Aofi, praised organisational process of election, while highlighting that they have been organised according to international standards. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, backed Al Aofi’s statement as he told a press conference that the integrity of elections could not be doubted.

“Although some of the voters felt that they were under pressure by candidates and their supporters who pressed them for vote, such cases were rare and did not affect the smoothness of voting,” he said. The minister also dismissed reports of sectarianism, saying candidates addressed all voters regardless of their sects.

The election day was not easy for female candidates as at least two of them reported to be harassed by their male opponents.

Female municipal candidate, Al Dossary, told  Khaleej Times that she had to file an official complaint against the sister of a rival male candidate for calling upon voters to not vote for females, particularly her.

“I value the support I received from authorities in my constituency as they asked the woman to leave, but the incident was very disturbing for me.”