the right to vote and the right to contest for elections in the Kingdom of Bahrain Submitted by: Mr. Farid Ghazi Jassim Rafie Member of the NIHR's Council of Commissioners, Chairperson of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights In workshop on the role of National Institution for Human Rights in monitoring elections 13 - 15 March 2016 Amman – Jordan Main Themes Introduction: First Theme: National and international legal protection for the right to vote and the right to contest for elections Second Theme: Reality of the practice of exercising the right to vote and the right to contest for elections in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Third Theme: Monitoring the electoral process in 2014 by the National Institution for Human Rights. Fourth Theme: Visualizing a proposal to activate the role of the National Institution for Human Rights in monitoring the electoral process. Introduction  The right to vote and the right to contest for elections is one of the most important civil and political rights, and one of the pillars of democratic rule where the people are the source of all powers. The existence of a transparent and fair electoral process is considered one of the most important guarantees for a country governed by the rule of law, and the absence of this right or impeding the enjoyment of exercising this right diminishes the legal elements of such country.  Therefore, this working paper will address a countryment of legal protection mandated by national legislation in the Kingdom of Bahrain as well as the provisions of the international human rights law to promote and protect the right to vote and the right to contest for elections, focusing on the reality of exercising this right, monitoring the electoral process in 2014 by the National Institution for Human Rights and proposing a vision to activate the role of the National Institution for Human Rights in monitoring the electoral process in the future. 1