15.
Article (18) of the same Law stipulates that, “Each constituency shall have one or more
committees called (the ballot and counting committee), which shall be responsible for
administering the ballot in the constituency and counting the votes. These committees shall be
formed by a decision of the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs, and Endowments, comprising
a chair and a number of members, one of whom shall serve as secretary of the committee. The
decision shall also determine the headquarters of these committees and shall specify the person
acting in lieu of the chair in his/her absence or inability to carry out the job.”
16.
Hence, Resolution No. (35) of 2014 on the determination of municipal electoral districts,
constituencies and their boundaries, and the subcommittees for the election of members of the
municipal councils, whereby the Kingdom of Bahrain is divided into a number of municipal electoral
districts, namely, Muharraq Governorate, which is divided into (8) electoral constituencies; the
Northern Governorate, which is divided into (12) electoral constituencies; the Southern Governorate,
which is divided into (10) electoral constituencies. The delimitation of each electoral constituency
is determined by the boundaries of the governorate in which it is located. The total number of the
provincial constituencies is (30) constituencies, which are the same provincial centers designated
for the election of members of the House of Representatives in the mentioned governorates.
17. The total number of the public voting centers for the municipal ballot and counting electoral process
is (14) public centers, distributed across the various governorates of the Kingdom, which are the
same public centers designated for the election of members of the House of Representatives.
18. Decision No. (96) of 2018 of the Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the General Supervision
of the Soundness of Elections of the Members of the House of Representatives was issued forming
the ballot and counting committees for the election of members of the House of Representatives.
Decision No. (97) of 2018 of the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs, and Endowments was issued
to form ballot and counting committees for the election of the members of the municipal councils.
Pursuant to both decisions, the chairs, secretaries, and members of ballot and counting committees
distributed across the governorates of the Kingdom were named, as well as the alternate chairs,
secretaries, and members of those committees. The total number of ballot and counting committees,
both general and subcommittees, is (54) committees.
19. The NIHR considers that the judicial organizing of the electoral process, whether parliamentary
or municipal, is unequivocally clear and sound for the various procedures, measures, and
circumstances prior to polling day, whether at the legislative level or at the executive administrative
decisions level. In addition, such administrative decisions are issued in sufficient time before the
start of polling day, which enhances the transparency of the entire electoral process from the legal
and organizational aspects.
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