Bahrain Voter Turnout 30%: Opposition

Bahrain's opposition said on Saturday that total voter turnout in the country's general and municipal elections did not exceed 30 percent.



"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," Ali Salman, the secretary-general of the opposition Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, said.



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



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



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



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



Candidates who fail to secure more than 50 percent of votes in their respective constituencies will be part of an election runoff after one week.



Al-Wefaq and other opposition movements accused the government of coercing citizens to participate in the elections.  



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



The commission said in a statement that it had decided to extend voting hours in order to offer voters the chance to cast ballots in the elections.



Bahrain has been beset by political turmoil since 2011.  



Ahmed al-Masri



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Doha