Bahrain holds elections after tense campaign

MANAMA, Nov 25 (Reuters) Bahrainis began voting in the small Gulf state's national elections today, amid tension between the government and the opposition which boycotted polls in the pro-Western kingdom in 2002.

The main Shi'ite Muslim opposition group has warned the Sunni-led authorities any attempt to rig the parliamentary and municipal elections would be vigorously opposed.

Sheikh Ali Salman, leader of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society which represents the kingdom's majority Shi'ites, said on Friday his group would know the polls were rigged if it did not win 13 of parliament's 40 seats.

The elections, taking place against a backdrop of Sunni-Shi'ite tension in nearby Iraq, are the first to be contested by Wefaq in Bahrain, a small island state of 650,000 where Shi'ites make up 60 percent of nationals.

Bahrain, headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, is ruled by the Sunni al-Khalifa family. Since coming to power in 1999, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has introduced some reforms, including pardoning political prisoners and exiles.

Voters flocked to have their say at the ballot box, with men and women lining up in separate queues before polling stations opened at 8 am (1030 IST).

''We want to elect someone who will solve the problems of the people, unemployment and poverty,'' said Jihane Hamze, covered from head to toe in black.

VIOLENCE Groups of youths gathered in a poor Shi'ite area of the capital Manama late yesterday, burning tyres and stopping traffic. Witnesses said police used batons to disperse the protesters, arresting about eight.

Earlier, about 2,000 protesters chanting ''Down, down with the government'' gathered in central Manama, demanding an investigation into alleged election irregularities.

Protesters, both Sunnis and Shi'ites, demanded a probe into allegations of election irregularities in a report by former government adviser Salah al-Bander, who was deported in September for what authorities said was fomenting civil strife.

Wefaq is contesting 17 of the 40 parliamentary seats and 23 of the 40 municipal seats.

It boycotted the 2002 polls to protest against constitutional changes that granted a state-appointed council equal legislative powers to the elected assembly.

Shi'ite demands for more power and an end to government inequalities and discrimination in jobs and services have led in the past to unrest, arrests, exile and clashes with police.

Bahrain bristled with billboards on the eve of the polls, featuring candidates ranging from bearded Muslim fundamentalist men to liberal women with uncovered hair. Most candidates are promising more jobs, more housing and better education.

The Shi'ites also campaigned against what they say is a state move to award citizenship to thousands of Sunnis from other countries to weaken Shi'ite influence.

The government says it has naturalised relatively few foreigners, and Shi'ites were well represented among them.

Many Sunnis welcomed Shi'ite participation in the polls, and many Shi'ites said they did not want a repeat of political unrest that convulsed Bahrain in the 1980s and 90s.

But many Bahrainis said they did not care about the elections at all, saying the 2002 polls brought little change.

They said the fact all legislation must be approved by the king and unelected politicians meant today's elections were unlikely to matter either.

Reuters BDP VV1144