Bahrainis Vote to Fill Seats Vacated by Shiite Lawmakers
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Bahrain today held special parliamentary elections boycotted by the country’s largest Shiite Muslim bloc a day after stepped-up protests in Shiite villages and riots in Manama’s biggest shopping mall.
The vote was called to fill 18 seats in the 40-member parliament vacated by the al-Wefaq group, the biggest Shiite party. Its lawmakers quit in objection to a crackdown on mostly Shiite demonstrators who held rallies in February and March during which at least 35 people died.