The Battle Begins

The registration of the candidates for the parliament elections ended yesterday. The stage is now set and 221 candidates have to fight it out for 40 seats in the House.

There was a low turnout as the candidate had filed their papers during the first four days of registration at the centres allocated in the five governorate respectively. But the parliament Chairman Khalifa al Dhahrani created a stir in the political scene as he filed his paper in the Central Governorate yesterday night. Al Dhahrani was accompanied with deputies as he entered the registration centre to file his paper. Earlier, there were reports in newspapers stating that Al Dhahrani would not contest from his constituency, as he would like to give others a chance. But things changed as the parliamentarian filed his papers and was confident of his victory.

In the Southern governorate, Mohammed Abbas Mohammed Sultan had to face disappointment after the officers at the centre rejected his papers. “Apparently, Mohammed’s paper was rejected on the grounds that he is not 30 at the time of the nomination which is one of the stipulation that the candidate has to fulfill. In his case, he was 29 years-old and would turn thirty next month which is not acceptable according to the rules.” said the officer at the Southern governorate.


Meanwhile, the president of Al Asala Islamic Society MP Ghanem al Buainan running from Muharraq governorate District- 8( Hidd) looked confident of winning his seat in the constituency. Al Buainan has a strong following in his area. There were a few latecomers who came at the last moment to file their papers but overall it seems that the countdown has began and now the next thing to look forward is the election campaigns and the strategies the candidates are going to resort to.