The first referendum on political reform in Bahrain
Bahrain, Politics, 2/15/2001

The Bahraini people on Wednesday cast their votes in the first referendum of its kind since Bahrain's won independence from Britain in 1971. A referendum which has been closely observed by the rulers of the Arab Gulf states, neighboring Bahrain. The Bahraini authorities expected the referendum to result in a " unanimous" approval of political reforms that form a step forward towards building democracy.

The number of citizens eligible to voting reached 217,000 citizens above 20 year old including women. The referendum continues for two days over a charter which calls for establishing an elected parliament, an appointed council, a constitutional kingdom and an independent judiciary.

The turnout for the referendum was strong in the first day of the voting which was held in 94 voting centers in carious parts of the country. The referendum permits for the first time women to cast their votes.

No information was given about the average of participation in the referendum. The central bureau for statistics explained that the first day of the referendum was dedicated to almost 70 to 75 thousand voters. However, many voters took part in the referendum on Wednesday and have not waited for the second day which is today ( Thursday).

News reports said that several Bahraini opposition leaders will take part in today's ( Thursday) referendum and these include Sheikh Abdul Ameer al-Jamri.

Opposition member Abdul Wahab Hussein said that the leaders of the opposition received " necessary documents to take part in the referendum."

Previous Stories:
  Bahrain 's foreign minister gets a message from Iranian counterpart   (2/14/2001)
  Al-Assad arrives in Bahrain   (2/13/2001)
  Bahraini opposition in exile calls for voting against the national document   (2/9/2001)

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