REGISTRATION opened yesterday for Bahrainis aged 20 and above who wish to be a part of the elections process later this year.
His Majesty King Hamad issued a Royal Decree last Thursday, announcing that the 2022 national parliamentary and municipal council elections will be held on November 12.
Citizens who meet the age requirement and whose names appear on the voters’ list can register for temporary employment for electoral duty by entering their smart card details on the ems.gov.bh online portal.
The theme of this year’s poll is: “We vote for Bahrain.”
Meanwhile, the Official Gazette released yesterday listed blocks distributed across the four governorates – with some changes made to the boundaries of some areas.
For example, Khalifa Town in the Southern Governorate has moved from Constituency 8 to Constituency 10 which also includes Hawar and Durrat Al Bahrain.
The gazette outlines 40 constituencies or electoral districts: 12 in the Northern Governorate, 10 each in Capital and Southern and eight in Muharraq.
In elections to the three municipal councils – the Capital Governorate being run by the nominated Capital Trustees Board – expatriates and GCC nationals who own property can cast their votes to select their area councillor.
Candidates for parliament and municipal council polls will be allowed to file nominations from October 5 to 9 in designated centres.
On November 12, voting will take place from 8am to 8pm, while the second round of voting will be held on November 19.
Elections (for parliament only) will be held in Bahrain embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions abroad on November 8, and in cases that require a run-off, the re-election will be held on November 15.
Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Nawaf Al Maawda will chair the High Committee to Oversee the Integrity of the Elections of Members of Parliament.
Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission president Chancellor Nawaf Hamza has been appointed executive director of the committee.
He will oversee all the necessary administrative and technical preparations for the parliamentary elections.
Several non-governmental organisations have also opened registration for election monitors that will be present in voting centres across the country to register any violation.
Voter turnout in the 2018 was 67 per cent in parliamentary polls and 70pc in municipal council elections, with 244,863 people exercising their right.
sandy@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))