19. In terms of municipal elections, two candidates were elected for municipal council membership by acclamation; one of them is a woman. Polling was conducted in (28) electoral districts in which (5) candidates won municipal council membership from the first round. Run-off was carried out in (23) electoral districts. Four (4) women candidates took part in the run-off, of which (3) women were elected for municipal council membership, bringing the total number of women members in municipal councils to (4) women. Section III Observing the parliamentary and municipal elections following polling day (The stage of receiving and adjudicating electoral appeals) 1. Article (62) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain stipulates that, “The Court of Cassation shall be competent to adjudicate appeals relating to elections of the House of Representatives, in accordance with the governing law.” Article (21) of Decree-Law No. (15) of 2002 on the Shura Council and the House of Representatives, as amended, stipulates that, “Every candidate in the electoral district shall have the right to challenge the outcome of the election held in his/her constituency before the Court of Cassation within fifteen days from the date of the announcement of the general result of the election. If the Court establishes, after examining the papers and hearing the statements of both the appellant and the contested elected candidate (appellee) and any person the Court sees fit to hear his/her testimony, the validity of the appeal, it shall nullify the victory of the contested elected member. In this case, the Court may decide to win the candidate whose election is valid, provided the reasons and circumstances of the appeal do not necessitate election re-run. The submission of the electoral challenge shall not preclude the member challenged (appellee) from the exercise of his/her powers in the House of Representatives during the period prior to the issuance of the Court’s ruling on the appeal. The effect of the ruling of the invalidity of the election of the member shall be limited to the future without rebound on the period before the Court delivered its judgment.” 2. Regarding municipal affairs, Article (29) of Decree-Law No. (3) of 2002 on the system of electing members of municipal councils, as amended, bears the same substance as the previous provision on challenging the elections of the House of Representatives. 3. In accordance with the terms of reference of the Court of Cassation on elections, the Court has adopted a number of relevant principles in the last years, from 2002 to 2014, to serve as a guide to every new electoral process. 4. The Court of Cassation in a number of its successive rulings on the integrity, soundness, and validity of the electoral process stated, “Integrity of the electoral process is the origin; meaning that the election cannot be invalidated unless it is firmly established that the electoral process is invalid, thus affecting its results.” 5. This principle is one of the main doctrines and principles of the Court of Cassation, as it had made 90