Manama, Nawaf bin Mohammed Al Maawda, the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Affairs, issued decision (65) of 2024 regarding the procedures for the election for the membership of the Council of Representatives for voters outside the Kingdom of Bahrain. A polling and counting committee for the election of the member of the Council of Representatives in the vacated first electoral district of Muharraq Governorate will be set up at each embassy, consulate, or diplomatic mission of the Kingdom of Bahrain abroad. This committee will be headed by the ambassador, consul general, or head of the diplomatic mission, and will include two officials from the embassy, consulate, or diplomatic mission, one of whom will serve as the secretary of the committee. Each committee is responsible for conducting the two polling operations and counting the votes of voters present in the country where the embassy, consulate, or diplomatic mission is located. The decision stipulates: "The committees referred to in the previous article shall observe the following procedures: The election will be held in embassies, consulates, and diplomatic missions on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. In cases that require a re-election, the election will be held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. Voting will take place from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, according to the local time of the city in which the embassy, consulate, or diplomatic mission is located." The committees must also "publish on the elections website and social media the procedures for registering Bahrainis living abroad who are entitled to vote in the by-election for the vacated constituency. Additionally, they must publish the voting procedures in advance of the scheduled date for the election." Regarding the preparation of the voter list, the decision indicated that "the names of voters registered in the vacated electoral district who wish to vote abroad will be open for registration through the elections website or at the headquarters of the embassy, consulate, or diplomatic miss ion for three days, from August 19, 2024, to August 21, 2024, during official working hours. It is required that the voters are registered in the electoral roll for the vacated district in the Kingdom." Accordingly, "the Supreme Committee for the general supervision of the election of the member of the Council of Representatives in the vacant district shall send a final list of the names of voters abroad who have the right to vote to each embassy, consulate, or diplomatic mission before the election date". This list will be recognised in the voting process by the committee formed at each location." Regarding the voting and counting procedures, the resolution stated that "the identity of the voter shall be verified through their passport or any other approved official document. It must be confirmed that the voter is registered in the electoral roll for the vacated constituency and has not previously cast their vote. This verification will be conducted by reviewing the list of registered voters at the emb assy, consulate, or diplomatic mission. Voters will be marked in the voters' roll manually or electronically to indicate that they have cast their vote, or by any other means approved by the head of the Supreme Committee for the general supervision of the election of members of the Council of Representatives." After the counting, a record shall be made with the number of votes cast, valid/invalid votes, votes per candidate, and committee decisions. The head and secretary shall sign this counting record. The record, ballots, and voters' data shall be placed in a sealed envelope and sent to the Supreme Committee overseeing the election in the vacated district, with a copy emailed/faxed immediately. The resolution also noted that "those who did not cast their vote at the embassy, consulate, or diplomatic mission have the right to vote before the relevant committee in their electoral district if they are present in the Kingdom of Bahrain on election day." Source: Bahrain News Agency
Thursday, November 07, 2024