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Bahrain to vote on new parliament Bahrain to vote on new parliament
(about 6 hours later)
Voters in the Gulf state of Bahrain go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new parliament.Voters in the Gulf state of Bahrain go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new parliament.
It is the second time people have been able to vote for representatives at a national level under a new system introduced by the King of Bahrain.It is the second time people have been able to vote for representatives at a national level under a new system introduced by the King of Bahrain.
Many people have been disappointed with the efforts of those elected the first time around. On Friday, about 2,000 people protested in the capital Manama demanding the resignation of the prime minister over alleged electoral fraud.
It is change that many people want to see - and more quickly than they feel it is currently being implemented. The former government adviser who made the allegations has been deported.
The issues Salah al-Bandar had accused the government of plotting to ensure Sunni Muslim dominance in the elections.
Feelings of impatience are partly due to the perceived lack of achievement by MPs elected to Bahrain's parliament four years ago. KEY FACTS Men and women over the age of 20 years can voteVoters: Population of 700,000, plus resident citizens of Gulf StatesPolitical parties banned, so candidates are organised into "political societies"National Assembly made up of 40 appointed and 40 elected members href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/6172482.stm" class="">Election Q&A Protesters also accused Prime Minister Khalifah bin Salman al-Khalifah of granting citizenship to foreign workers in order to increase the proportion of non-Shia voters.
Then, Shia Muslim and other opposition groups boycotted the elections because they wanted more constitutional change. Foreign workers, many of them Asian, make up approximately one-third of Bahrain's 700,000 people.
Voter turnout is expected to be high.
KEY FACTS Men and women over the age of 20 years can voteVoters: Population of 700,000, plus resident citizens of Gulf StatesPolitical parties banned, so candidates are organised into "political societies"National Assembly made up of 40 appointed and 40 elected members Election Q&A
Shia voters and other opposition groups boycotted the first parliamentary elections in 2002 because they wanted more constitutional change, says the BBC's correspondent in the Persian Gulf, Julia Wheeler.
The result was a parliament of mostly pro-government MPs.The result was a parliament of mostly pro-government MPs.
This time though the opposition groups - religious and secular - have been central to the lively, and at times impassioned, campaigning. Many people have been disappointed with the efforts of those elected the first time around, says our correspondent, and want to see change implemented more quickly.
Whatever their affiliation, financial and social issues have been at the top of many candidates' agendas - at times, at the insistence of the electorate. Campaigning has been lively and impassioned with economic and social issues dominating the agenda.
In particular, people are worried about unemployment among Bahraini nationals in the context of large numbers of mostly Asian migrant workers. Unemployment among Bahraini nationals is a worry in the context of large numbers of mostly Asian migrant workers says our correspondent.
Pride Lack of housing and unequal distribution of wealth in the kingdom are also concerns.
A lack of housing for thousands of Bahrainis has also been a rallying call, as has the distribution of wealth within the kingdom.
Many Bahrainis are angry at what they say is the divide between the haves and the have-nots within their society.
Above all perhaps, most want to see their parliament filled by people who will work for the good of the country - not by those who are apparently there, only for their own benefit.
Voters, both male and female want to be able to feel proud of their parliament and they want the real issues facing their country to be debated and resolved.