Bahrain Govt Voter Turnout Figures 'Absurd': Opposition

Bahrain's opposition has cast doubt on the voter turnout figures announced by Bahrain's justice minister, which put participation in the parliamentary elections at 51.5 percent.



"The voter turnout being propagated by the [Bahraini] regime is absurd and lacks any modicum of credibility," Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Bahrain's main opposition bloc, said in a statement late Saturday.



The opposition accused the Bahraini government of announcing "bloated" figures to delude public opinion into believing that the number of participants is much larger than those who boycotted the elections.



"The total voter turnout in the country's general and municipal elections did not exceed 30 percent," Ali Salman, the secretary-general of the opposition society, said in the release.



"More than 80 percent of the people who showed up at polling stations were either civil servants and their families or employees at security agencies," Salman said.



He added that only 17 percent of voters had participated in the elections on their free will.



Bahrainis voted in their country's general and municipal elections, the first since 2011, on Saturday, amid boycott from the opposition.



Around 349,713 voters were eligible to vote in the elections to choose 39 members for the country's parliament and 29 local councilors.



A total of 419 candidates ran in the elections, according to local media.



A run-off vote is expected next week in the constituencies where no candidates managed to win more than 50 percent of votes.



Al-Wefaq and other Shiite opposition movements had earlier accused the government of coercing citizens into participating in the elections. 



Even with this, Bahrain's election commission decided earlier on Saturday to extend voting for two more hours, citing what it described as "high voter turnout."



Bahrain has been rocked by political unrest since 2011, with the authorities blaming the Shiite opposition groups for the turmoil. The groups led by Al-Wefq, however, say they seek the establishment of a "constitutional monarchy" in the kingdom.



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