Second Annual Report of the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) 2014 - Kingdom of Bahrain 16. According to those figures and official statistics, the electoral bloc of the Capital amounted to 90.349 voters, 68.618 voters in Muharraq, and 119,467 voters in the Northern District. The electoral bloc of the Southern District amounted to 71,279 voters86 , with a total electoral block of 349,713 voters. The participation percentage in the parliamentary elections amounted to 52.6%, while the participation percentage in the municipal elections amounted to 59.1% of the total number of voters87. 17. The election system in the Kingdom is based on individual election88 , whether for membership of the House of Representatives or the municipal councils. It allows voters to vote for one candidate among several candidates, which means that the ballot paper is required to carry one candidate name. One candidate only is elected for each (parliamentary or municipal) constituency. 18. In order to enforce the outcomes of the national consensus dialogue between all political parties, which was led by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at the invitation of His Majesty the King within the political theme, the parties to the dialogue agreed on the need to take corrective actions, including making legislative amendments that deal with constituencies and strengthening the independence of the Supreme Elections Committee. In 2014, several legislative amendments were made in connection with the electoral process, whether the election of members of the House of Representatives or members of municipal councils. Decree No. 71 of 2014 on the Identification of Electoral Areas, Constituencies, and Boundaries and Sub-Committees for the Election of the House of Representatives was issued. The Decree divides the Kingdom to 4 electoral districts, i.e. the Capital District, Muharraq, the Northern District, and the Southern District. Under Decree No. 39 of 2002 on the Identification of Electoral Areas, Constituencies, and Boundaries and Sub-Committees for the Election of the House of Representatives, there were five electoral districts. The Central District was cancelled from the said Decree. 19. Other legislative changes were made by enacting Law No. 24 of 2014 amending some provisions of the Municipalities Law promulgated by Law Decree No. 35 of 2001. The changes deal with the division of the Kingdom into four municipalities: Muharraq Municipality, Northern District Municipality, Central District Municipality, Southern District Municipality, and the Capital Secretariat. Under this amendment, Manama Municipality was cancelled and replaced by the Capital Secretariat. As a result, the Municipal Council of Manama Municipality was cancelled and replaced by the Municipal Council of the Capital that consists of no less than 10 members appointed by royal decree, including the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and experienced and competent civil society institutions members involved in municipal work who live in the Capital Province. 20. Subsequently, Decree No. 70 of 2014 on the Abolition of the Municipality of the Central District was issued. It was followed by Resolution No. 35 of 2014 on the Identification of Electoral Areas, Constituencies, and Boundaries and Sub-Committees for the Election of Members of the Municipal Council. The Resolution divides the municipal electoral districts to three regions: Muharraq District, Northern District, and the Southern District. 86 Press release of the Executive Director of the parliamentary and municipal elections in 2014 published by Bahrain News Agency (BNA) on October 12, 2014. 87 The final results of the parliamentary and municipal elections in 2014 declared by the President of the Supreme Committee to oversee the safety of the referendum and the election, published by Bahrain News Agency (BNA) on November 30, 2014. 88 Article 9 of the Decree-Law No. 15 of 2002 on the Shura Council and the House of Representatives, as amended, Article 17 of the Decree-Law No. 14 of 2002 on the Exercise of Political Rights, as amended, and Article 5 of the Decree-Law No. 3 of 2002 on the Election of the Members of Municipal Councils, as amended. 75