Bahrainis are heading to the polls on Saturday in a parliamentary election from which opposition groups have been barred in a crackdown on dissent in the Western-allied kingdom as tensions with the Shia Muslim opposition show no signs of abating.
Activists have called for a boycott of what they describe as “farce” elections, raising doubts about the credibility of the polls. The government says the elections are democratic.
The polls opened at 8am local time (05:00 GMT) and are set to close at 8pm.
Bahrain’s Sunni-Muslim ruling Al Khalifa family has kept a lid on dissent since the Shia opposition staged a failed uprising in 2011. Saudi Arabia sent in troops to help crush the unrest in a mark of concern that any power-sharing concession by Bahrain could inspire Saudi Arabia’s own Shia minority.