Bahrain heating up with election fever

At some centres, voters queued up at the doors before opening at 5 pm. The centres welcomed visitors until nine in the evening. Officials at the committees said they received requests for changing addresses, correcting voters’ data, requests for listing and registering names and filing objections. The voters’ list is also available on the website www.vote.bh. All the processes for submitting requests and filing objections are available online without visiting centres.

The centre at the Capital Governorate is in the Khawla Secondary School for Girls, the Muharraq Governorate Committee in Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifa Secondary School for Boys, the Northern Governorate Committee in Yathrib Preparatory School for Girls, and the Southern Governorate Committee in Al-Mustaqbal Primary School for Girls.

No fees for filing requests

Separately, the heads of supervisory centres also confirmed to AlAyam, our sister concern, that there are no fees for filing requests or objecting, rejecting all claims in this regard. Confirming the fee news circulating as fake, the head of the supervisory centre in Muharraq Governorate, Counsellor Dr Ali Al-Shuwaikh, said what circulated on social media is false. He reaffirmed that the services provided at the supervisory centres and election websites are free. Any citizen who does not find a name on the voters’ lists can submit a request to include them or want to change their address could do so without paying any fees.” If a supervisory centre rejects a request, citizens can approach the court to file an appeal, for which there is a BD32 fee.

Counsellor Nayef Youssef, head of the Supervising Committee for the Safety of Referendum and Elections in the Capital Governorate, also confirmed that there are no fees for the objection at the current stage. He explained that filing an objection and an appeal is different. Objections come before a Supervisory committee regarding names or changing addresses. An appeal comes three days after the committee’s decision, before the judiciary, for which there is a charge. Meanwhile, Ahmed Al-Haddi, a potential candidate for House of Representatives from the ninth constituency in the Northern Governorate, said the supervisory centres are working smoothly.

Added 35 names in an hour

He said that 35 people from his constituency complained to him about not finding their names on the voters’ list. “The committee managed to resolve the issues in about an hour,” he said. He called on voters not to get outraged at missing names but to approach the supervisory centres to get back on the list, which would not even take a minute. Representative Hamad Al-Kooheji, during a visit to the supervisory centre in Muharraq Governorate, said, “The process is well organised, with hassle-free communication.” “We encourage everyone to exercise their voting rights in this democratic process.” A candidate for the second constituency in the capital governorate, Hassan bin Rajab described the electoral movement so far as excellent. The supervisory centres also set aside spaces and light snacks for journalists and media professionals.

Fatima Habil, head of the supervisory committee in the southern governorate, said they received ten applications at the start of the second day. She confirmed taking decisions on all of the applications received on Thursday, where some got decided today. “Some of the requests are under study,” she added. Representative Mahmoud Al-Bahrani described the electoral movement witnessed in Bahrain as “positive and good.”

North gets 114 requests

Head of the Supervisory Centre in the Northern Governorate, Attorney General Fahd Al-Buainain, said they received 114 applications yesterday, of which resolved 77, accepted 71 and rejected 6. Five of the rejected cases were on account of criminal charges, while one applicant didn’t reach the legal voting age. Al-Buainain said 58 requests were made in person and 56 online. “We are holding 37 requests as they came during the last five minutes of accepting requests.”

Counsellor Dr Ali Al-Shuwaikh, the head of the Supervisory Centre in Muharraq Governorate, said they received 40 objection, of which 18 were made in-person and 22 online. “We rejected five applications and accepted 35,” he said, adding that one of the applicants hadn’t reached the legal age. Some of the other rejected requests were over criminal cases. Counsellor Nayef Youssef, the head of the Supervising Committee for the Safety of Referendum and Elections in the Capital Governorate, announced receiving 60 objections, of which 40 were online and 20 in-person at the Khawla Secondary school for Girls.

124,000 reviewed voters' lists in two days: official 

More than 124,000 people reviewed the voters' list two days after its launching, said Chancellor Nawaf Abdullah Hamza, the President of the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission (LLOC), Executive Director of the Elections. "This is according to data of in-person visits and at www. vote.bh," said Hamza. "Such a large number of visits in about two days reflects the citizen's awareness of the electoral process." In 2018, after three days of publishing, 81,000 people reviewed the voters' list. The voters' list published on Thursday will remain open for a week for voters to review, either through supervisory committees or online.