MANAMA (AFP) – Bahrainis voted Saturday for the third time since reforms which turned the Persian Gulf state into a constitutional monarchy, with the Shia majority demanding an easing of the Sunni dynasty's grip on power.

People flocked to polling stations, especially in opposition constituencies, on Saturday afternoon as the 8:00 pm (17000 GMT) closing time neared for the 12-hour elections.
Official figures were not yet available on voter turnout. But first results were expected during the night, with the final outcome due to be announced on Sunday from the third ballot since the restoration of parliament after a 27-year suspension.
Some 292 observers from Bahraini non-governmental organizations are monitoring the elections, which foreign observers were not allowed to oversee.
In an open challenge to the pro-Western Al-Khalifa family, which has ruled Bahrain since 1783, top Shia cleric and MP Sheikh Ali Salman said authority should be shared.
“It is unacceptable that power be monopolized by a single family, even one to which we owe respect and consideration,” said the head of the Shia mainstream Islamic National Accord Association (INAA).
“We look forward to the day when any child of the people, be they Sunni or Shia, can become prime minister,” he told a closing campaign rally.
Despite the reforms passed in a 2001 referendum which restored a parliament dissolved in 1975, King Hamad's uncle, Prince Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, has served as prime minister ever since independence from Britain in 1971.
On Saturday, Prince Khalifa pledged to cooperate with the legislative authority, but dismissed the presence of an opposition in the country.
“We do not have an opposition. We have one people with different opinions. We are not one of those countries that have oppositions,” he said as he cast his vote in Manama.
The archipelago state was plagued in the 1990s by a wave of Shia-led unrest which has abated since the steps launched to convert the emirate into a constitutional monarchy.
On Wednesday, cleric Salman roused the crowd as he listed his community's grievances against a regime accused of discrimination against the Shias and of working to tip the demographic balance by naturalizing foreign Sunnis.
The crowd stood up in unison, punching the air with their fists and chanting slogans.
“The Shias of Bahrain are loyal only to Bahrain,” Salman later told AFP.
And in the run-up to the legislative and municipal polls, a wave of arrests of Shia political activists has drawn warnings from international human rights watchdogs of a drift back to full-blown authoritarianism.
Bahraini authorities detained 250 Shia opposition activists, London-based watchdog Amnesty International said this month.
On Thursday, Bahrain said Interpol has circulated arrest warrants for two Shia opposition leaders living in London, days before they are due to go on trial in absentia as part of a group of 23 on terror charges.
About 318,000 Bahrainis are eligible to elect the 40-member parliament, while the king names the members of a 40-strong upper chamber, known as the consultative council.
Parliament has the authority to examine and pass legislation proposed by the king or cabinet and also has monitoring powers, while the consultative council has the power to block legislation coming out of the lower house.
Photo: Bahrainis show their identification to vote Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, in Muharraq, Bahrain. (AP photo)
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