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Counting is under way in Bahrain after the polls closed in Saturday's parliamentary elections, banning opposition groups from cracking down on dissent in the Western Allied kingdom.
More than 350,000 Bahrainis were eligible to vote, said Justice Minister Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa, adding that there were 54 polling stations in the country.
According to Bahraini state television, the voter turnout was 67 percent, the Reuters news agency reported.
Before the vote, however, activists and members of the banned opposition parties called for a boycott of what they call elections "jokes", raising doubts about the credibility of the polls. The government says elections are democratic.
Polling stations opened at 8:00 am local time (05:00 GMT) and closed at 20:00 (17:00 GMT).
Much of Bahrain's legislative power is in the hands of the National Assembly, which is divided into a lower house and a upper house, the council of the Shura.
The members of this council, who can block the initiatives of the lower house, are chosen by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
According to Bill Law, a Middle East expert and founder of Gulf Matters, the elections are an attempt by the Bahraini government to make the impression that elections are open and democratic.
"It's true that there are many candidates, but the general feeling among most Bahrainis is to know" what's the point, "Law told Al Jazeera, adding that parliament was perceived as largely ineffective.
"For example, he passed the current family laws that prevent people from banned political parties from running in this election," he added.
2011 uprising
Bahrain has the world's oldest prime minister, Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, in power since 1971.
However, during a failed uprising of 2011, mainly organized by the Shiite minority, protesters have requested the replacement of the Prime Minister.
These protests eventually failed after Saudi Arabia sent troops to help defeat the unrest, fearing that any power-sharing concession from Bahrain could inspire Saudi Arabia's own Shiite minority.
Riyadh considers the neighboring island nation, which does not possess vast oil wealth like the other Gulf states, as an essential ally in its proxy war against Iran in the Middle East.
Since then, Bahrain has seen little or no reform despite repeated calls from members of Sunni and Shia communities.
"The country has been in a political stalemate since 2011. There has been no reform," said Al Jazeera.
Bahrain, home to the US Navy's fifth fleet, has shut down major opposition groups, prevented their members from running for office and sued dozens of people, many of whom have been described by groups of defense of human rights as activists, in mass trials.
"Clearly, the legislatures of the world's leading democratic states believe that the upcoming elections in Bahrain lack legitimacy, you simply can not crush, torture and imprison your entire opposition, ask for a pseudo-election. and then demand the respect of the international community, "said the organization. Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of the British Institute of Bahrain for Rights and Democracy (IBRD).
The government said there were 506 candidates running for office, including the largest number of women candidates. He expects an electoral turnout higher than that of 2014, which was 53%, when opposition groups boycotted the elections.
Only 23 of the 40 incumbents of the House of Representatives wish to be re-elected this year to Parliament, which has limited powers.
A large number of Bahraini Shiites claim to be deprived of jobs and public services and treated as second-class citizens in a country of one and a half million people.
The authorities deny these accusations and accuse Iran of causing unrest, during which demonstrators clashed with security forces, who were the target of several bombings. Tehran denies the allegations.
Before Saturday's vote, the Bahraini Interior Ministry claimed that Iran was trying to interfere in the elections, saying Tehran was at the origin of about 40,000 texts sent to Bahraini citizens who "aimed to negatively affect" the elections.
Following this assertion, the government told the citizens to trust only "to"depend on "reliable sources".
Bahrain emboldened
Human Rights Watch said in a statement that Manama is failing to create the conditions for a free election by "imprisoning or silencing those who challenge the ruling family" and banning all opposition parties.
A leader of dissident opposition groups al-Wefaq said the rise of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as the MBS, has encouraged the Bahraini authorities to crack down on dissent, which has robbed many activists of their nationality.
"They could not continue the crackdown without the support of the Saudi government. Mohammed bin Salman Ali Alaswad, who lives in exile in London and has been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment, told Reuters Ali Alaswad.
Opponents of the government say that the room for maneuver for political expression has been reduced since the beginning of the elections. Several activists, including a former lawmaker, were arrested last week for tweeting about the election boycott, activists said.
"No one is prevented from expressing his political views," said a government spokesman.
"Bahrain is home to 16 political societies, the majority of which have nominated candidates for the upcoming elections, and the government fully supports open and inclusive political dialogue."
Some candidates used social media to urge Bahrainis to vote as a patriotic duty.
"Those who do not participate will not be part of the national consensus or the equation in Bahrain," said Ali Al Aradi, vice president of the House of Representatives of Bahrain.
Some opposition figures are hoping that the outcry over the assassination of the prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Riyadh consulate in Istanbul last month could help strengthen the more moderate voices in the region. , including members of the Bahraini royal family open to dialogue with the opposition.
The assassination of Khashoggi, a critic of Prince Mohammed, was condemned worldwide and revealed Saudi Arabia's crackdown on dissent and its aggressive foreign policy.
"Now, there is a real accusation from the United States against Mohammed bin Salman, the radical wings in Bahrain that do not want to work with the opposition will be weakened, "said Alaswad.
But some analysts are skeptical.
"The killing of Khashoggi will simply serve to highlight the fact that those who wish to denounce abuses face a much more risky task," said Marc Owen Jones of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University. d & # 39; Exeter.
"If anything, it will have a crippling effect."
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