494 Covid-infected voted in Bahrain elections

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

Close to 500 citizens infected with Covid-19 virus voted in the first round of polls held to elect the new Parliament and Municipal Councils.

This was revealed yesterday by the head of the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission and the Executive Director of Parliamentary and Municipal Elections 2022, Nawaf Abdullah Hamza.

He said the voting process for the infected was successfully implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.

“We wanted to ensure that every citizen enjoyed his democratic right and offered a chance to the infected voters to cast their ballots. And all precautions were taken to ensure that the process remains smooth.”

He pointed out that Covid-19 infected individuals will be given an opportunity to vote in the runoffs as well, which is scheduled to be held on November 19.

“Every citizen has the right to perform his democratic duties with integrity and transparency.”

The first round of polls held to elect the new Parliament and Municipal Councils on Saturday created many milestones in terms of participation.

This year, the Kingdom has recorded the highest number of candidates as 561 and 176 candidates contested for 40 and 30 seats for the lower house of the parliament and for the municipal councils, respectively. This represents an increase of 20 per cent compared with 2018.

A total of 252,256 Bahrainis cast ballots in the first round of elections and the high turnout in the elections reflects the national awareness about the importance of elections in consolidating the achievements made during the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the follow-up of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, he added.

The turnout among female was 48pc, an indication of the high level of political engagement of Bahraini women and their prominent role in consolidating democracy practices, Mr Hamza said, adding that the turnout of young voters was 45.37pc, a “figure that reflects the vitality of political and democratic life in Bahrain, and the interest of young citizens in actively participating in the national process of electing lawmakers and municipal councillors”.

Bahrain recorded 73 per cent record turnout in the 2022 general elections, the highest figure since the first elections in 2002.

This was revealed by the Minister for Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments and head of High Committee for Elections for 2022 Nawaf Al Mua’awda during a Press conference at the close of the polls on Saturday night.

The minister said that the success of the record turnout was a culmination of the democratic progress led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa since 2002 and supported by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The number of Bahrainis eligible to cast ballots in the 2022 elections is 344,713.