MANAMA, 25 November 2006 — Bahrainis go to the polls today to elect a new Parliament, with the mostly-Shiite opposition vying to seize a sizable representation after boycotting the last polls.

Tensions were high yesterday with a leader of the opposition warning that any attempt to rig the vote would be vigorously opposed. Sheikh Ali Salman of the Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said his group would know if the polls were rigged if it did not win 13 of the Parliament’s 40 seats.

Polling was due to open at 0800 a.m. (0500 GMT) today, 24 hours after the close of campaigning.

Some 295,000 eligible voters will choose between 207 candidates, including 17 women, to elect 39 MPs in a similar number of constituencies.

One seat in the 40-strong chamber has already gone to Latifa Al-Qouhoud — a female candidate standing unopposed in her constituency — making her the first woman MP in the Bahrain’s history.

Bahraini police and a small group of protesters scuffled on Thursday afternoon after police intervened to break-up a unauthorized gathering here calling for the release of two people arrested last week for printing anti-government pamphlets.

The protesters, both Shiites and Sunnis, gathered in front of the Financial Harbor towers in the heart of the capital raising placards calling for the release of the two, with some taping their mouths to symbolize the lack of freedom of speech and expression, as they claimed.

Shiite political activists from Haq (Right) Movement, which is boycotting the elections, led the protest that relatives and friends of the two detainees took part in.

“We are here to peacefully demand the release of the two who had been unjustly detained,” said Haq spokesman Abduljalil Alsingace.

Haq claims that the arrest of 35-year-old Bahraini dentist Dr. Mohamed Said and Hussein Abdul-Aziz, both members of Haq, is an escalation by the government in dealing with activists shedding light on what has become known as ‘Banadargate’ scandal.

The scandal, which is based on an August report by the London-registered Gulf Center for Democratic Development (GCDD) alleges that a secret government grouping has been conspiring to fuel sectarian tensions and rig the results of the upcoming elections.

Al-Wefaq is contesting 17 of 40 parliamentary seats, and 23 of the 40 municipal seats. It boycotted polls in 2002 to protest against constitutional changes that granted a state-appointed council equal legislative powers to the elected assembly.

Bahrain bristled with billboards on the eve of the polls, featuring varied candidates. Most candidates, Sunni and Shiite, are promising more jobs, more housing and better education.

The Shiites are also campaigning against what they say is a state campaign to award citizenship to thousands of Sunnis from other countries to weaken Shiite influence in the kingdom.

“Naturalization. This is the No. 1 issue. This is what’s causing the lack of jobs, housing and decent pay,” said Shiite Nasser Ahmed, who lives in a run-down Shiite district.

The government says it has naturalized relatively few foreigners, and Shiites were well represented among them.

Many Sunnis welcomed Shiite participation in the polls, and many Shiites said they did not want a repeat of the political unrest that convulsed Bahrain in the 1980’s and 90’s.

“The biggest deficiency in the last (2002) polls was Shiite boycott. This allowed unsuitable people to get into Parliament because there was no competition,” said Rashid Rahman, a Sunni at the campaign tent of a Sunni candidate.

“Sectarianism in some areas is strong. It’s terrible,” he said.

— With input from agencies