More than 95 percent of voters gave a yes to a referendum on setting up democratic reforms in Bahrain, reports said.
Sources told Bahrain Tribune that 88 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots at the two-day referendum which stared Wednesday.
More than 191,000 out of a total of 217,000 eligible voters cast their votes in the two-day referendum, the sources said, adding that there was a strong participation of women on the second day.
The percentage of the participation is among the highest in the world, the sources said, attributing the record figure to the “high level of awareness among the people of Bahrain.”
Official results are expected to be handed later Friday to the Emir, Shaikh Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa, by the Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs.
Political debate has also been encouraged after years of oppression, which saw at least 38 people killed during anti-government unrest between 1994 and 1999.
On Thursday, he Bahraini government predicted a 100 percent "yes" vote as Bahrainis voted to restore democracy to the Gulf state 26 years after parliament was dissolved.
"We are expecting a 100 percent yes," information minister, Mohammad Ibrahim Mutawa, told reporters.
"Bahrainis are unanimous in wanting to reestablish parliament and restore democratic life after the failure of the first parliamentary experiment," Mutawa said.
"We have drawn conclusions from our previous experience and will avoid the errors of the past," he said – Albawaba.com
