However, it still fell short of a majority in the 40-member lower house of a bicameral National Assembly, referred to in the local media as Majlis Al-Nuwab, or House of Representatives.

Other important political groups such as Al-Asalah and Minbar did very badly in their traditional constituencies and many of their leading candidates failed to win enough votes to avoid a second round of polling, which takes place Oct. 30.

The two groups, which had held a combined 15 seats in the outgoing National Assembly and were part of the ruling bloc, won only three seats. Another seven of their candidates will have to enter a second round of voting.

Among the prominent winners were 10 business-oriented, pro-government candidates. Most of them ran as independents.

Al-Wefaq won 17 seats in the 2006 elections and had supported one independent who too emerged victorious.

In that sense, Al-Wefaq has maintained its tally. It is now hoping that two prominent candidates from the leftist-liberal Al-Waad grouping — Munira Fakhro and Ibrahim Shareef — will win their seats in the second round.

If they do, then the lower house will be split equally. Fakhro had contested in 2006 as well and lost narrowly. There were 127 parliamentary candidates in the running, including eight women, for 35 seats. Five candidates, including a woman, were elected unopposed.

Speaking to Arab News immediately after the results were announced, leading Al-Wefaq figure Jasim Husain said: "We are hoping that the two will win. We are politically closer to Al-Waad. In any case, it will be far more interesting to have the ruling and opposition group divided into two equal halves in the house."

Husain said his party was pleased with the results. "We promised to sweep the elections and we did. As a single largest political bloc, we have the people's mandate. Plus we have learned a lot from being in Parliament in the last four years. We will build on that experience."

There were celebrations at the announcement of the results. Supporters of the winning candidates held them aloft and made victory signs. Adel Asoomi, who won his parliamentary seat in an important constituency, was not allowed to walk even one step after news of his victory was announced.

His supporters, some on foot and some honking horns in their vehicles, weaved their way through the narrow lanes of the constituency. Residents in the area peeped out from their windows as the procession passed by.

Interestingly, no one has cried foul since the results were declared Sunday by Justice Minister Khaled bin Ali Al-Khalifa, who is also chief election commissioner.

"This only enhances Bahraini ruling establishment's position," said a leading political commentator. "It promised to conduct free, fair and transparent elections, and it did exactly that. All those doomsayers who were predicting that the polls would be rigged and that all hell would break loose on the election day have been proved wrong. Bahrain has done itself proud and has taken a significant step forward in strengthening democratic institutions."

The international media had access to all election booths on Saturday and the journalists were free to speak to anyone they wanted.

The whole exercise was quite transparent and beamed live on state television. All key ministers were at hand and more than willing to answer difficult questions from the media, indicating the government's confidence in carrying out this important democratic exercise.

Writing in a local newspaper, Ali Al-Saeed narrated his thrilling experience of casting his vote on Saturday. "There was a buzz, excitement and even tension around the polling station, but the sight of men and women of every age and background put me at ease," he said moments before he voted. "No matter which way you look at it, and in spite of all what was said and done, these elections were a monumental step toward a bright Bahrain."

The response to the elections was overwhelming. Out of the more than 300,000 eligible voters, nearly 70 percent cast their ballots. In 2006, turnout was 72 percent and 53.4 percent in 2002.