By Mohammad Al-Enezi
MANAMA, Nov 21 (KUNA) -- Many of the 350,000 eligible voters are due to head to polling stations on Saturday to elect nominees for the 40-seat Bahraini parliament.
The new parliamentary line-up is the fourth since launch of the "modern political life" in 2002, and will be held in implementation of the reforms' approach, spearheaded by the Bahraini King.
Simultaneously with the parliamentary elections, the citizens are also due to cast their ballots in municipal polls.
Media have been portraying nominees' manifestos that have largely appeared of "general, political nature," unlike the specific and lucrative slogans, raised by the municipal candidates who have been talking about purely technical issues.
Nevertheless, bulk of the Bahrainis pin high hopes upon the legislative elections, with aspirations the new legislators will push for solutions to economic and living problems, namely creating jobs and securing housing for all citizens.
There are 40 constituencies, each represented by a single nominee. A voter is entitled to vote for only one candidate. A winner in an electoral district must garner 51 percent of the votes. In absence of such a proportion of votes, a run-off is held a few days later among the candidates who garner the largest number of votes.
According to the law, a citizen aged 30 and above is eligible to take part in the voting. A person, who has had the Bahraini citizenship since 10 years ago, is entitled to nominate for the polls, provided he has not acquired a third-country nationality, except for those of GCC countries. (end) mgh.rk