A BAHRAINI think tank says voter turnout could exceed 60 per cent in this month’s national elections.
The government-backed Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat) is basing its forecast on feedback from 3,345 eligible voters.
Of those surveyed, 44pc said they would definitely vote in the November 24 polls.
Another 33pc were still undecided, while 23pc said they planned not to cast their ballot.
“There was a clear interest among voters in participating in the upcoming elections,” stated Derasat in a statement.
“Voter turnout is likely to be anywhere between 44pc and 77pc of the total study sample.
“However, a more logical and reasonable assessment is that the voter turnout will range between 55pc and 66pc.”
Voter turnout was 51.5pc in the 2014 parliamentary elections, while 53.7pc of eligible voters took part in municipal elections.
Those surveyed by Derasat this year identified key issues that will shape their choice during parliamentary and municipal council elections.
Value Added Tax (VAT), pay rises and early retirement were important factors influencing their parliament vote, along with housing and tackling inflation.
Respondents said they were looking for policies focused on infrastructure development, storm water management, traffic congestion and better urban planning from municipal council candidates.
However, 24pc of respondents said they were not optimistic about the performance of the next parliament or municipal councils.
Only 18pc were optimistic, while 43pc said it was too early to speculate and 15pc did not respond.
The overwhelming majority of respondents (72pc) said they were looking for honest and competent candidates, while 64pc wanted well educated and experienced and 61pc wanted candidates to be patriotic.
Thirty-seven per cent of respondents were backing independent candidates, 9pc supported those backed by political societies, 6pc valued candidates who are members of a religious society, 28pc supported social activists and 18pc backed public figures.
Another 5pc said they supported “other” candidates.
“These results and percentages prove that voters do not care whether or not a candidate is affiliated to a political or religious society, but rather about his professionalism and integrity,” said Derasat.
“These are the attributes that voters will bear in mind when voting for a member of parliament or municipal council.”
The first round of voting will take place in Bahrain on November 24, with a second round of voting for closely contested seats on December 1.
Contest
However, overseas voting will take place at 29 embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions abroad on November 20 and 27. A total of 430 candidates will contest elections in the country’s four governorates, including 293 parliamentary candidates and 173 municipal council candidates.
There are a total of 365,467 eligible voters, while 40 polling stations will be open from 8am to 8pm on election days - in addition to 14 general voting stations where residents of any constituency can vote.
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