Overseas Bahraini voters make a beeline for embassy polling booths

The Kingdom’s embassies across the world yesterday confirmed successful voting with a high turnout for this year’s elections to the parliament. Polling stations at 29 diplomatic missions abroad opened for 12 hours for citizens to exercise their democratic right. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, expressed his pleasure and satisfaction with the smooth-running polling process abroad and the strong voter turnout, which reflects the voters’ belief in the reform approach of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and their understanding of the importance of this national event.

The Minister affirmed that the polling process in the diplomatic missions of the Kingdom abroad has gone well. He also added that the embassies and consulates of the Kingdom had taken all necessary arrangements to ensure that the polling process is done at ease, in a well-organized environment that correlates with such an important national event.

Shaikh Khalid pointed out that the diplomatic missions of the Kingdom of Bahrain abroad received citizens from 8 am to 8 pm, in 29 different capitals and cities all over the world. He added that a specialised committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been following up the round-the-clock polling process which began at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Tokyo and will end at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Washington and the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bahrain in New York tomorrow at 4:00 am.

The minister congratulated His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness the Prime Minister, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, on the the success of the polling process in the diplomatic missions of the Kingdom of Bahrain abroad. The elections are being held this year under the theme “It’s Our Call”. Queues were seen outside Bahrain embassies in many countries a few minutes after the polls opened, say sources. “Just a few minutes after the polls opened, the first voters at the Embassy for the Parliamentary elections 2018 cast their votes,” Bahrain’s embassy in the UK stated.

“The voting for the parliamentary elections began at the Embassy of the Kingdom in Moscow from 8 am onwards. Ambassador Ahmed Al Saati and diplomats at the embassy were among the first to vote,” Bahrain’s embassy in Russia stated. Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) monitored polls in Egypt and the UAE, BHRWS General secretary Faisal Fulad said.