Electoral heat soars in Bahrain

TDT | Manama      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

Supervisory centres in all four governorates of Bahrain continued to welcome candidates yesterday, further heating up the electoral battle that began in full swing on Wednesday.

On day one, 325 candidates filed their papers. Things, however, began at a slower pace yesterday, when compared to Day 1, with centres opening their doors at 5 pm. On Day 1, Northern Governorate registered the maximum with 118 filing nominations, followed by Southern Governorate (79), Muharraq Governorate (66) and Capital Governorate (62).

Yesterday, Northern Governorate received 28 nominations - 18 for parliament and 10 for municipal elections. Attorney General Fahd AlBuainain, the head of the Supervisory Committee, said they tested seven candidates to ensure their proficiency in reading and writing Arabic.

Day one had seen long queues of potential candidates at electoral supervisory centres, carrying documents and required papers marking the beginning of the Kingdom’s biggest democratic festival.

Speaking to the media on Day, Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Elections Committee, Nawaf Al Maawda, had said over 250 potential candidates turned up within the first two hours of starting the process.

“Electoral hopefuls were seen in long queues, two hours before the process began. This is an indication of active participation in the electoral process and a message that the nation is heading towards a successful electoral season.

“The electoral process is moving forward at a rapid pace and all activities in connection to this are very well organised.” He said a large number of women hopefuls signal the democratic empowerment of women.

“The first candidate filing nomination for the municipal council election was a woman,” Mr Al Maawda said. He also thanked the candidates for patiently waiting in long queues as part of exercising their democratic rights.

No electoral crimes recorded:

minister Yesterday, the minister confirmed receiving nominations from all electoral districts of the Kingdom. The presence of young people to run for election, especially women, was the highlight of day 2, the minister added.

The minister also confirmed recording no electoral crimes during a visit to the Capital Governorate. The Daily Tribune earlier reported about a hotline being set up by the Elections Committee to support candidates infected with Covid-19.

The infected person who wishes to run for candidacy must contact the hotline at 77277277 to book an appointment with the supervisory committee. The nomination form for candidates is available on vote.bh. According to Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission President and Election Executive Director Nawaf Abdullah Hamza, a special mechanism has also been developed to allow candidates infected with the virus to exercise their constitutional rights.

“When a candidate arrives at the supervisory committee, he or she will be greeted by a committee member who will verify his or her identity. The candidate should submit the nomination form and the required documents, as well as pay the candidate fee, while the candidate is in the car,” Mr Hamza said.

He highlighted the commitment to upholding citizens’ constitutional rights of choosing their representatives throughout the two decades since the launch of the first legislative term in 2002. He stressed the electoral process will be monitored and supervised by the judiciary throughout all its stages to ensure transparency and the integrity of the elections.

And that the higher committee will cooperate with independent civil societies to monitor the electoral process.

On display for three days

The candidate lists will be on display for three days, from October 10 to 12, during which time potential candidates can challenge the supervisory committees’ decisions.

The committees must issue their final decisions by October 15, which can be challenged in court no later than October 18, and court rulings must be issued by October 25. The final list of candidates will be announced on October 26. The Kingdom will head to the polls on November 12 with a run-off fixed on November 19.