Some of the statistics for these 22 November 2014 elections have yet to be confirmed at the time of publication on 23 November. However, there are several patterns which have clearly emerged:
The 52.6% turnout is a combination of very high participation in some of the most competitive areas (like central Muharraq and many of the urban areas of central Bahrain) with very low turnout in a handful of areas where opposition militants were enforcing the boycott, like Sitra and some of the villages on the north coast.
However, most of the seats have not been decided, because high numbers of candidates, and intense competition ensured that in most seats no candidate obtained more than 50% and therefore the vote had to go to a second round.
Only six first round victories
Citizens for Bahrain predicted that around three quarters of go to a second round because of the stiff competition and that prediction has been proved to be too cautious, as in fact 85% of constituencies (34 out of 40) have gone to a second round!
The 8th Capital seat automatically went to Majid al-Asfour after his rival candidates pulled out of the race. However, results indicate that only five further constituencies have been decided in the first round of the elections. For three of these constituencies; Isa al-Kooheji (4th Muharraq); Abdulhalim Murad (3rd Southern) and Ahmed al-Mulla (10th Southern) were MPs from the previous parliament.
The other two: Jamal Daoud (11th Northern) and Abdulrahman Bu-Ali (8th Muharraq) are all new entrants to Parliament. However, both candidates contested previous rounds of parliamentary elections and so are experienced campaigners.
There are to be second round votes in the following constituencies
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th Capital
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th Muharraq
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th Northern
1st, 2nd 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th Southern
Nine more incumbent MPs out the race
Ten incumbents got the most votes in the first round, but not enough to win outright:
Adel al-Assoumi (1st Capital), Ahmed Qarratah (2nd Capital), Ali Shamtout (3rd Capital), Abdulrahman Bumajid (4th Capital), Ali al-Atish (6th Capital), Abbas al-Madhi (6th Muharraq), Ali al-Dirazi (1st Northern), Hassan al-Dossary (3rd Northern); Mohammed al-Ammadi (10th Northern), Abdullah Bin-Huwail (7th Southern).
Three MPs squeezed into the second round, but only came second place: Adnan al-Maliki (1st Southern), Isa Qadhi (2nd Southern), Khalid al-Maloud (10th Northern).
Nine MPs did not gain sufficient votes to win or make it to a second round: Hassan Bukhamas (4th Capital), Sumayah al-Jowder (10th Capital) Mahmoud al-Mahmoud (5th Muharraq), Samir Khadim (8th Muharraq), Ibtisam Hijres (2nd Capital), Mohammed Buqais (11th Northern), Khalid Abdulaal (12th Northern), Salman al-Shaikh (1st Southern), Jassim al-Saeedi (8th Southern). Al-Saeedi’s low result is a particular surprise.
So, out of the 26 incumbent MPs who were contesting 22 seats, three are definitely back in Parliament, 13 remain in the competition and nine are out of the race altogether. This guarantees that at least 60% of the new Parliament will be made up of new faces.
Six women in the second round
There was a mixed picture for women in the first round of the parliamentary elections. Six female contestants have made it through to the second round – Fatima al-Asfour (1st Northern), Rua al-Haiki (6th Northern), Jameela Sammak (12th Northern), Wafa Ajoor (5th Capital), Zainab Abdulamir (7th Capital) and Fawzia Zainal (5th Southern).
This was after several strong candidates like the NUG’s Sima al-Lengawi and Jehan Mohammed suffered defeats, with all three female candidates in 10th Capital being knocked out.
Mixed fortunes for political societies
The National Unity Gathering suffered heavy defeats in all of its seven constituencies, despite fielding several high-calibre candidates.
Al-Asalah will be disappointed that Abdulrazzaq al-Hattab lost in 5th Southern. They also lost in 3rd Muharraq and came second against Al-Minbar in 10th Northern. However, Abdulhalim Murad won outright in 3rd Southern and Adnan al-Maliki is through to the second round having come second place to Khalid al-Shaer in 1st Southern.
So out of six Asalah candidates, two are definitely out, one has won a seat, and four others are still in the race. However in two constituencies (7th Muharraq & 10th Northern) Asalah and Minbar will go head-to-head in the second round.
Al-Minbar originally fielded six candidates. However, Hashim al-Madani was disallowed in 4th Southern, leaving five candidates in the race. So Minbar have four candidates through to the second round (1st Muharraq, 7th Muharraq, 8th Northern, 10th Northern), after Khalid al-Qattan lost in 1st Southern.
Al-Wasat’s Secretary General, Ahmed Al Binali (3rd Muharraq) and Mithaq’s Mohammed al-Buainain (6th Southern) and Ibrahim al-Mannai (4th Capital) are through to the second round, meaning that Sunni political societies (Al-Asalah and the Al-Fateh Coalition – including Minbar, NUG, Wasat & Mithaq) can win a maximum of nine seats.
Winners & losers from the business community
Several prominent businessmen and women invested a lot in high profile campaigns. Some, like Adel Al Safr (5th Capital) and Lulwah Mutlaq (10th Capital), had been expected to do well, but gained disappointing results.
However, Mohammed al-Maarifi, was seen as a front-runner from early in the contest came a clear first in his 4th Southern constituency. Businesswoman Rua al-Haiki also did very well, coming top in her 6th Northern constituency.
Abdullah al-Kooheji (6th Capital) and Ali al-Aradi (5th Northern) after fighting a very high-profile campaign narrowly made it into the second round.
Successes for experienced candidates
Some of the most strongly-performing candidates are figures who have had multiple experiences of unsuccessfully contesting past rounds of elections. For example, Khalid al-Shaer (1st Southern) and Fawzia Zainal (5th Southern) have unsuccessfully contested elections on several occasions; both performed impressively against tough opponents.
Jamal Dawood (11th Northern), Jamila Sammak (12th Northern) and Abdulrahman Bu-Ali (8th Muharraq) have also fought successful campaigns, having failed to make it through to Parliament in past attempts.
Preliminary constituency-by-constituency results
In the results below, we have avoided quoting exact numbers of votes which at the time of publication still haven’t been confirmed in writing. However, the winning candidates and those through to the second-round run-off on 29 November have been confirmed.
The pairs of underlined candidates are those who are through to the second round, while those marked with asterisks **** are candidates who have won the parliamentary seat outright.
1st Capital
Areas covered: Manama northeast coast, Diplomatic Area, Hoora, Qudaibiya
Number of candidates: 5
Adel al-Asoumi (MP)
Khalid Sulaibikh
Ibrahim Janahi
Ahmed al-Awadhi
Ahmed al-Abbasi
2nd Capital
Areas covered: Central Manama, Burhama, Salehiya, Suwayfiyah
Number of candidates: 7
Ahmed Qaratah (MP)
Hashim al-Alawi
Ibtisam Hijres (MP)
Faysal Bin-Rajab
Ahmed Ghalib
Ala’uddin Bu-Ali
Faisal al-Aradi
3rd Capital
Areas covered: Sanabis, Karbabad, Seef
Number of candidates: 7
Adel Abdulhamid
Ali Shamtout (MP)
Abbas Sarraj
Abbas Kayid
Ammar al-Mahari
Hashim al-Aradi
Mohammed al-Mawali
4th Capital
Areas covered: Fateh, Juffair, Ghuraifa, Mina Salman, Umm Hassam, Abu-Ghazzal, Adliya
Number of candidates: 7
Abdulrahman Bumajid (MP)
Ibrahim al-Mannai (Mithaq)
Hassan Bukhamas (MP)
Ammar al-Banai
Adnan al-Nuaimi
Fadhil al-Badu
Faisal al-Aynati
5th Capital
Areas covered: Bilad al-Qadeem, Zinj, Salmaniya, Segaiya, Mahooz and Abu Asheera
Number of candidates: 9
Nasir al-Qaseer
Wafa Ajoor
Adel Al Safr
Mamoud al-Hamar
Hussain Bukhamas
Kadhim al-Uwaynati
Ibrahim al-Awadhi
Basimah Saleh
Rashad Umar
6th Capital
Areas covered: Khamis, Musalla, Tashan, Abu Baham, Adhari, North Sehla, South Sehla
Number of candidates: 5
Ali al-Atish (MP, Rabitah)
Abdullah al-Kooheji
Masoumah Abdulrahim
Ihsan al-Faraj
Abdulnabi Mahdi
7th Capital
Areas covered: Jid Ali, Jurdab
Number of candidates: 5
Osamah al-Khajah
Zainab Abdulamir
Khalid al-Quwwati
Redha Shukrallah
Abdullah al-Dirazi
8th Capital
Areas covered: Nabih Saleh, Sitra, Industrial Area, Marqoban, Mahaza
Majid al-Asfour ****
9th Capital
Areas covered: Southern Sitra, East Eker
Number of candidates: 4
Ibrahim al-Asfour
Mohammed al-Shaikh
Jawad Buhussain (MP)
10th Capital
Areas covered: West Eker, Sanad and South Isa Town
Number of candidates: 15
Nabil al-Balooshi
Ali Ishaqi
Adel Abduljalil
Atiyatallah Al Sinan
Wajih Baqer (Mithaq)
Khalifa Sulaibikh
Mohammed al-Markh
Lulwah Mutlaq (Watan)
Salman al-Saffar
Sumayah al-Jowder (MP)
Noura Matouq
Yassir al-Khayyat
Yassir Bukhuwwah
Tariq al-Tamimi
Abdulhamid al-Baqishi
1st Muharraq
Areas covered: Busaiteen
Number of candidates: 9
Saadi Mohammed (Minbar)
Ali Bufursan
Mohammed al-Hussaini
Ahmed al-Obaidli
Ahmed Ashir
Yahya al-Majdami
Mohammed al-Qalalif
Ahmed Aqqab
Thani Rashidan
2nd Muharraq
Areas covered: Muharraq central
Number of candidates: 9
Ibrahim al-Hamadi
Abdulmunim al-Eid
Wahid al-Dossary
Salim Rajab (NUG)
Mohammed al-Buainain
Abdulrahman Bin-Zaiman
Khalid Bu-Jiri
Khalid al-Hashim
Ahmed al-Jowder
3rd Muharraq
Areas covered: Muharraq central, Qalali
Number of candidates: 10
Jamal Buhassan
Ahmed Al Binali (Wasat)
Mohammed al-Mutawwa
Adel Bu-Anq
Mohammed Murad
Abdulnasir al-Mahmeed (Asalah)
Yusuf al-Awadhi
Mohammed Ahmedi
Abdallah Saad
Abdulrahman Fakhro
4th Muharraq
Areas covered: Muharraq central
Number of candidates: 7
Isa al-Kooheji (MP) ****
Abdullah al-Aynati (NUG)
Hamad al-Mearaj
Rima Halal
Majid al-Atawi
Mohammed al-Murbati
Mohammed Khayami
5th Muharraq
Areas covered: Northeast; Muharraq; Amwaj Islands; Qalali
Number of candidates: 10
Mohammed al-Jowder
Khalid Bu-Anq
Mahmoud al-Mahmoud (MP)
Muhammed al-Dakhil
Mohammed al-Faraj
Abdulaziz al-Majid
Jamal Saad
Sami al-Shaer (NUG)
Ahmed al-Mannai
Ibrahim Ali
6th Muharraq
Areas covered: Dair & Samaheej
Number of candidates: 4
Abbas al-Madhi (MP)
Nabil al-Ashiri
Hassan al-Samaheeji
Abbas al-Faraj
7th Muharraq
Areas covered: Arad
Number of candidates: 9
Nasser al-Fadhalah (Minbar)
Ali al-Muqla (Asalah)
Badr al-Hammadi (Watan)
Mohammed al-Sulaiti
Mohammed al-Wazzan
Khalid Ibrahim
Abdulrahman al-Khashram
Adel al-Mannai
Muhammad al-Mulla
8th Muharraq
Areas covered: Southern Muharraq; Hidd
Number of candidates: 3
Abdulrahman Bu-Ali ****
Samir Khadim (MP)
Abdullah Bughamar (Al-Saff)
1st Northern
Areas covered: Hilla, Meqsha, Karranah, Janusan, Barbar, Diraz
Number of candidates: 7
Ali al-Dirazi (MP)
Fatimah al-Asfour
Hussain Habib
Yassir Nassif
Mohammed Rabea
Jaffar al-Asfour
Mohammed Shehab
2nd Northern
Areas covered: Markh, Bani Jamra, Diraz
Number of candidates: 3
Jalal Kadhim
Hussain al-Hamar
Fadhil al-Dirazi
3rd Northern
Areas covered: Northern strip of west coast; Budayya, Haniniyah, Jasra, Hamala, Um Sabiyan, Um Na’san, Jiddah
Number of candidates: 6
Hassan al-Dossary (MP)
Hamad al-Dossary
Firas Nouruddin
Adel al-Dossary
Mamdouh Marhoun
Abdulaziz al-Dhawadi
4th Northern
Areas covered: Jidhafs, Jabla Habshi, North Sehla, Qadam, Abu-Quwwah
Number of candidates: 5
Nawaf al-Sayed
Ghazi Al Rahmah
Hussain Jawad
Huda Radhi
Mohammed al-Aleywi
5th Northern
Areas covered: Qadam, Hajar, Abu Saiba, Shakhurah, Muqaba, Diraz, Sar, Markh
Number of candidates: 10
Jamil al-Rowaei
Ali al-Aradi
Ahmed al-Najjar
Jamil al-Mahari
Hannan Abdulaziz
Mohammed Mohsin
Mohammed Khalil
Nabil al-Lababidi
Isa Taqi
Fadhil al-Harz
6th Northern
Areas covered: Aali
Number of candidates: 8
Rua al-Haiki
Mohammed Al Asfour
Mohammed al-Aali
Mohammed al-Bahhar
Majid Saleh
Moayed Neamah
Ali al-Sayegh
Younis Jassim
7th Northern
Areas covered: Al-Qurayah, Janabiyah, Buri, Hamalah, Dumistan
Number of candidates: 9
Majid al-Majid
Mohammed Bin-Rajab
Munir Ibrahim
Ahmed Hassan
Jamil Abbas
Abduljalil al-Aali
Majid Ibrahim
Ali Sakran
Ali Makki
8th Northern
Areas covered: Hamad Town
Number of candidates: 5
Isa Turki
Adel al-Dhawadi (Minbar)
Jassim Hijris
Maryam al-Mahrous
Bader al-Dossary
9th Northern
Areas covered: Hamad Town
Number of candidates: 9
Abdulhamid al-Najjar
Hassan al-Alawi
Ahmed Ali Arad (NUG)
Yousif Zainal
Mohammed Baqer
Ahmed al-Qahiri
Abdullah Tarrar
Ahmed Yousif
Mahmoud Abdulrahman
10th Northern
Areas covered: Hamad Town
Number of candidates: 7
Mohammed al-Ammadi (MP Minbar)
Khalid al-Maloud (MP Asalah)
Sima al-Lengawi (NUG)
Hisham Rabeah
Abdulqadir Abduljalil
Khalid al-Zubari
Saad Sultan
11th Northern
Areas covered: Hamad Town, Dar Kulaib
Number of candidates: 5
Jamal Dawoud ****
Mohammed Buqais (MP)
Thamir al-Qaran
Jaffar al-Hamiri
Ali al-Fadhli
12th Northern
Areas covered: Dumistan, Luzi, Karzakan, Malikiyah, Sadad, Shahrakan, Safriyah
Number of candidates: 6
Jamila al-Sammak
Ammad al-Sayed
Khalid Abdulaal (MP)
Ali Fardan
Ali Baqer
Abdulrazzaq Fardan
1st Southern
Areas covered: Isa Town
Number of candidates: 10
Khalid al-Shaer
Adnan al-Maliki (MP Asalah)
Ahmed al-Amer
Jehan Mohammed (NUG)
Jaffar al-Kharaz
Salman al-Shaikh (MP)
Anwar Qambar
Abdulghani al-Haiki
Abdulrahman Abdullah
Khalid al-Qattan (Minbar)
2nd Southern
Areas covered: Isa Town, Zayid Town
Number of candidates: 8
Mohammed al-Ahmed
Isa al-Qadhi (MP)
Yaqoub Nassim
Faydh al-Sharqawi
Abdulaziz Matar
Ahmed Matar
Mohammed al-Dhawadi
Ahmed al-Murbati
3rd Southern
Areas covered: North Riffa, Hajiat
Number of candidates: 6
Abdulhalim Murad (MP Asalah) ****
Mohammed al-Housani
Naji al-Dossary
Hassan al-Ali
Abdullah al-Hajji
Mohammed al-Maloud
4th Southern
Areas covered: Nuwaidrat, Sanad, Hajiat
Number of candidates: 7
Mohammed al-Maarifi
Abdulhamid al-Shaikh
Ibrahim al-Mannai
Nabil al-Musaifar
Abdulrahman Abdulkarim
Ashraf al-Assar
Faisal al-Bufalah
5th Southern
Areas covered: West Riffa, Haniniyah, Bukuwarah
Number of candidates: 6
Khalifa al-Ghanim
Fawzia Zainal
Abdulrazzaq al-Hattab (Asalah)
Nayef al-Jassim
Adel al-Rowaei
Mohammed Qarratah
6th Southern
Areas covered: Northern Riffa, Bukuwarah
Number of candidates: 9
Mohammed al-Buainain (Mithaq)
Anas Buhindi
Layla Rajab (Al-Watani al-Hurr),
Nawal al-Dossary
Abdullah Baqer
Salah Khalifa
Yousif al-Hamdan
Khalifa al-Dossary
Ibrahim Fakhro
7th Southern
Areas covered: Nuwaidrat, West Riffa, Rawdhah
Number of candidates: 3
Abdullah Bin-Huwail (MP)
Ahmed al-Dossary
Anwar al-Mohammed
8th Southern
Areas covered: Southern Sitra, Ma’amir, East Riffa, Awali, Mazrowiyah, Askar, Jaw, Dawr
Number of candidates: 7
Dhiyab al-Noaimi
Mohammed al-Sisi
Jassim al-Saeedi (MP)
Mohammed al-Awdhani
Abdullah al-Azami
Noura Bushehri
Ali al-Rumaihi
9th Southern
Areas covered: Southwest coast; Sakhir
Number of candidates: 5
Mohsin al-Bakri
Mohammed al-Dossary
Mohammed al-Quwwati (NUG)
Mutib al-Dhawadi
Yousif al-Dossary
10th Southern
Areas covered: Southern Bahrain, Dawr & Hawar islands
Number of candidates: 2
Ahmed al-Mulla ****
Khalid al-Dossary