First Bahraini parliament, turn up exceeds 53%, Islamists, traders win

The citizens of Bahrain have stressed their confidence in the project of King of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, with the announcement made by the minister of information Nabil al-Homor that the rate of participation in the parliamentary elections, the first since 1973, reached 53.2%.

The Bahraini citizens by these elections, elected a parliament that includes 40 members, and the Islamic trends won the majority of its seats equal to that of industrialists and traders.

Observers say that the intensive campaign carried out by the King, his son the crown prince Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa has a great effect in obstructing the oppositions' campaign which was led by opposing societies to the authorities given to the elected parliament to convince the Bahraini people to boycott the elections which were carried out according to a new constitution approved in February this year where it was declared that Bahrain has been converted into a constitutional Kingdom.

The elections day, yesterday, was characterized by a large celebration held under the patronage of the King himself at Bahrain's university, where one of the 15 general ballot centers was opened there especially for citizens who want to vote and feel embarrass to cast their votes in their town's centers.

Meantime, those who boycotted the elections were meeting at the headquarters of the democratic national work society, following up the details of the election process.

According to preliminary estimates before official results will be announced today, the Islamic groups, with all their different attitudes, will win the majority of seats at the elected parliament beside the appointed council by the King which includes the same number of seats, 40 seats.

Just few hours from announcing the official results of the elections which were boycotted by four political societies, Bahrain's minister of information Nabil al-Homor told the media that the new parliament will be in the role of representing the people of Bahrain. He announced the end of "dialogue " with the opposition societies, which answered the minister's statement by asserting that its basic means in the political work depends on maintaining a dialogue.

Despite the fact that women's participation in these elections was remarkable, and that Bahrain is the only Gulf state which gives the woman the right to be a candidate and to vote, however, expectations indicated a low profile for the 8 candidate women to reaching the parliament.

The field visit carried out by the wife of the King of Bahrain Sheikha Sabeika to the Shiite and Sunni villages alike had a role to encouraging women to participate.