Reuters/Manama
Bahrainis voted on Saturday in elections boycotted by the Shia opposition over accusations that constituency changes would still favour the Sunni majority.
The election, the first since the 2011 unrest, is unlikely to resolve the political problems that have gripped the country.
The Shia opposition maintains that the new parliament will not have enough power and that voting districts still favour Sunnis despite some recent electoral changes.
Some 419 candidates are running, 266 for parliament and 153 for municipal councils in the kingdom.
Reconciliation talks between the royal family and the opposition revived early this year, but appeared to stall after the prosecution of opposition officials on a variety of charges.
Al Wefaq, the main opposition in Bahrain, is boycotting the elections along with three other groups. In a statement, the opposition said the way voting districts were reorganised "divides society according to sectarian and racial lines".
Despite the boycott, polling stations were busy.
In the village of Sanabis to the west of Manama, rocks were scattered in the street in an attempt to block traffic and prevent voters from reaching polling stations.
"In some areas the roads were blocked by the opposition to prevent people from voting but the police dealt with the matter and opened the roads..." the executive director of the elections, Abdulla bin Hassan al-Buainain told reporters.
He said voter turnout was high.
Al Wefaq won 18 out of 40 parliamentary seats in a 2010 election, but it pulled out of parliament a year later during a crackdown.
Bahrain is an ally of Saudi Arabia and home of the US Fifth Fleet.
