At stake in this election:      

• 14 seats in the Council of Representatives.  

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King HAMAD bin Isa al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman al-Khalifa (since 1971)
• Assembly: Bahrain has a bicameral National Assembly (al-Jamiyh al-Watani) consisting of the Shura Council (Majlis Al-Shura) with 40 seats and the Council of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nuwab) with 40 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch.
• In the Shura Council (Majlis Al-Shura) 40 members are appointed by the monarch. In the Council of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nuwab) 40 members are elected by absolute majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.**

** A second, runoff round is held if no candidate receives and absolute majority in the first round.

Election Note: 

• The by-elections will be held to fill seats vacated by members of the opposition Al-Wifaq party, who resigned in protest.  Though there are 18 open seats, only 14 are being contested, and all seats are being contested by pro-government party member or independents.[1]  All seats were won by independents.  
• The registered voters figure is taken from the contested districts, rather than the entire country.