General elections were held in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

in November and December 2018 to elect the 40 members of the Council of Representatives. The first round of voting was on Saturday, 24 November, with a second round in 31 constituencies on Saturday, 1 December.Bahrain announces election results as palace prepares for visit from Saudi crown prince
The National, 25 November 2018 A municipal poll coincided with the parliamentary vote. The elections were considered to be a

sham Sham may refer to: Arabic use * Al-Sham or Shām (شام), the Arabic term for the Greater Syria region, known in English as the Levant or the eastern Mediterranean, which includes the modern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus ...

, as they followed a government crackdown on dissent that included prohibiting members of dissolved opposition groups from running. Following the

2011 Bahraini protests The 2011 Bahraini uprising was a series of anti-government protests in Bahrain led by the mainly Shia and some Sunni Islam, Sunni Bahraini opposition primarily from 2011 until 2014. The protests were inspired by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spri ...

, all 18 Al Wefaq members on the Council resigned, and were barred from contesting the subsequent by-elections. Since 2011, authorities have imprisoned hundreds of dissidents, including Al Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman, and stripped many of Bahraini citizenship. Al Wefaq boycotted the

2014 Bahraini general election General elections were held in Bahrain in November 2014 to elect the forty members of the Council of Representatives. The first round of voting took place on 22 November, with a second round on 29 November in the 34 constituencies in which no can ...

. The two main opposition groups, the

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Al-Wefaq Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society (; ), sometimes shortened to simply Al-Wefaq, was a Shi'a Bahraini political party, that operates clandestinely after being ordered by the highest court in Bahrain to be dissolved and liquidated. Although from ...

and

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

Waad, were barred from fielding candidates in 2018, prompting renewed calls for a boycott. A court banned Al Wefaq in 2016 for "harbouring terrorism", inciting violence and encouraging demonstrations which threatened to spark sectarian strife.Experts cast doubt on upcoming Bahrain elections
/ref> On 17 July 2016, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television and international print media reported that Bahrain's highest court dissolved Al Wefaq and liquidated the group's funds.

Electoral system

The 40 members of the Council of Representatives were elected from single-member constituencies using a

two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

; if no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round was held.

Constituencies

Each

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

is divided into a number of

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

for the election for the Council of Representatives. Each constituency is listed as area 1, area 2 etc. Each constituency elects one member. Only Bahraini nationals are entitled to stand for and to vote at elections.

Campaign

Candidates had to apply between 17 and 21 October 2018, with 293 registering to contest the 40 seats.

Results

Nine of the 40 constituencies were decided in the first round, with the other 31 going to a runoff. According to the government, voter turnout in the first round was 67%, an increase from 53% in the

2014 elections * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presidential election 21 February and 10 April 2014 * 2014 ...

. However, the opposition claimed that the real voter turnout did not exceed 28%-30%.

List of elected members

References

{{Bahraini elections Elections in Bahrain

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results