Six candidates, including a woman, won seats in Bahrain’s first phase of parliamentary elections. In contrast, others will contest the remaining 34 seats in the main event next week, authorities said on Sunday.
On Saturday, Bahraini voters cast their ballots at polling stations in the tiny Gulf kingdom.
Justice Minister Nawaf bin Mohammed al-Maawda told reporters that on Saturday night, the turnout was 73% on the ballot, contested by many candidates.
He said it was the “highest turnout since 2002” and that “no violations were recorded”.
More than 330 candidates, including a record 73 women, are competing to join the 40-seat Council of Representatives – the lower house of parliament that advises King Hamad, who has ruled since his father’s death in March 1999.
This is an increase from the 293 people – including 41 women – who stood for parliament in the last elections in 2018.
Results on Sunday showed six candidates, five men and one woman, winning seats, while the remaining seats will be contested in a run-off next Saturday.
It is the third election since protests in 2011 prompted by demands for a constitutional monarchy and other political reforms.
Bahrain, the host of the US Fifth Fleet, often accuses its neighbour Iran of training armed groups to cause unrest, a charge Tehran denies.
The number of registered voters in the Gulf Kingdom is around 350,000 out of a population of around 1.4 million people.