In the village of Sanabis, where the protest began, the police used tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets against hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters, witnesses and human-rights advocates said.
The protest was a main part of the Shiite majority’s response to the election in the Sunni-ruled monarchy, which was boycotted by the mostly Shiite opposition. The aim of the protest was to march to Pearl Square, in Manama, where the government destroyed a 300-foot sculpture topped by a giant pearl in March after forcibly removing the protesters’ tent city.
“Security forces closed all access to Pearl Square today,” Mohammed al-Maskati, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, said by telephone. “The square is now like an army base. Thousands of protesters turned out in Sanabis and got attacked badly by the security forces.”
He said that dozens of people had been arrested on Friday and that some said they had been beaten badly. Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, said in a Twitter message sent from outside the country that about 38 women protesters had been ordered detained for 45 days.
Mr.Maskati added that turnout for the election was minimal as a result of the boycott and that the authorities had prevented television crews from shooting inside polling stations to avoid showing the low participation.
Government accounts of the voting said the opposite, that participation was high and that the day was further evidence of the country’s return to normalcy.
Eighteen members of the main opposition Wefaq party quit their posts in the 40-seat Parliament early this year. Saturday’s election was aimed at replacing them and buttressing Bahrain’s contention that it has restored order to a country whose economy, heavily dependent on international finance, relies on a reputation for stability.
Prince Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s prime minister, issued a statement on Saturday saying the election was proof that “we are on the right path toward a better future.”
He added, “The massive popular turnout has revealed citizens’ keenness to be partners in building Bahrain, boosting democracy and maintaining national unity and growth.”
Bahrain is more than two-thirds Shiite yet is run by a Sunni royal family. The pro-democracy movement has been heavily defined by that divide. Mr.Maskati said he and other human-rights groups would soon provide evidence of their contention that the voter turnout was low.
UAE makes history
Khaleej Times:The UAE was swept by celebrations after a historic election saw 20 new members elected to the Federal National Council on Saturday.
An encouraging number of voters from an electoral college of 130,000 turned out to vote at all polling centres across the Emirates.
Voting began at 8am and concluded at 8pm after the election committee decided to add another one hour to allow more people to cast their votes. The mood at some centres was sober to begin with and at some the turnout was beyond expectations with high and energetic atmosphere.
“We are taking steady steps,” His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, told reporters as he toured a polling station in Dubai. “By God’s will, we will continue progress and (expand) the powers of the Federal National Council.”
Shaikh Mohammed also spoke favourably of women candidates as he spoke to former FNC member MaysaGhadeer. “I’ve said in the past that women are the soul of the place and today I say that women are the place of the soul of the homeland,” he said.
The emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai elected four members each; Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah three each, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain two each.
Umm Al Quwain this time took the lead to elect the first women member, ShaikhaIssa bint Ghanem Al Arri, who secured 536 votes out of a total of 1,796.
During the last elections in 2006, Abu Dhabi was the first and only emirate to send a woman candidate to the council.
The ratio of women voters at most of the centres was higher than their male counterparts.
Results first flowed in from Umm Al Quwain, followed by other emirates, while Abu Dhabi was the last to send its results due to its larger territorial size and the largest number of centres and voters, most of whom had to come from some of the remotest areas.
Technical problems in the e-voting system, particularly in Al Ain where computers went down for almost two hours, were the other reasons for the delay in results.
According to the electoral rules, candidates can appeal against a particular preliminary result by Sunday with the committee responding to that on September 28. If there are no challenges, the final list of winners will be announced and released on the same day.
If a result is deemed void, especially due to candidates having polled an equal number of votes, a by-election will be held on October 1 and the final results will be released and announced on October 5.
The polling stations saw scenes of euphoria and celebrations as young and old joined together to make the country’s largest election process a memorable moment.
From an octogenarian voter to a university student, every individual seemed to realise the responsibility they had on their shoulders and each one of them had come prepared with all their homework done as far as selection of candidates was concerned.
The voting process went smoothly in all places. Hundreds of young officials were hands on at all stations, assisting voters to go through the electronic process, which was tried out for the first time.
“It is a good and smooth system to cast your vote. There were no complications in using the computerised system. In fact the pre-election training to familiarise ourselves to the system did work very well,” said Mohammed Al Fahim, a voter from the Abu Dhabi city.
But not all agreed with Al Fahim. A voter from Dubai, Mohammed Rashid, said that “the system was good for me and most young people will operate it smoothly, but old people might find it a bit difficult to operate the machines”.
However, the system at large worked smoothly and not a single complain was received from any other station except Al Ain.
But, it was more about democratic process rather then the system that people seemed to care about and it was visible on their faces, in their conduct as well as in the atmosphere.
There were people at the polling stations as early as 7 in the morning, waiting for voting to start and many came with their entire families, irrespective of them being part of the electoral college.
Many candidates too brought their families along.
At 8.07am, Rashad Mohammed Bukhash became the first citizen and candidate to cast his vote in the FNC elections.
“I came early because I wanted to be among the first voters. It is a historic day, and I am proud to be a part of this national exercise,” said Rashad who heads the Architectural Heritage Department at the Dubai Municipality.
Khalid Al Marri, who was also one of the first voters waiting outside the polling centre in Dubai World Trade Centre, said: “I am proud to be a part of the nation-building process and I had been waiting since a very long time for this day to come. This was the only thing missing in an Emirati’s life.”
But, it was the young voters — both men and women — who seemed the smartest and proudest of them all, coming in groups and pre-decided on candidates who served the interest of their future most.
