The race for the First Constituency seat in Muharraq is heating up as a runoff election is scheduled for Saturday, September 14th. The candidates, Ebrahim Al Shaikh and Abdulwahed Qarata, are gearing up for a final round of campaigning before the election. Overseas voters will start casting their ballots tomorrow, Tuesday.
In response to the runoff, both candidates have resumed their campaign activities, with promises of rallies in the coming days. While most of the five candidates from the first round remain undecided on who to endorse, a surprise endorsement came from Saleh Al Sada, who announced his support for Qarata in a video released recently. Qarata expressed his gratitude for the endorsement on social media.
The outcome of the runoff will heavily depend on the votes of the three candidates eliminated in the first round: former MP Hamad Al Kooheji, Al Sada, and Khawla Al Shamsi, who collectively garnered around 41% of the vote. Al Kooheji came in a close second to Qarata in the initial round, securing 20.2% of the vote. Al Sada and Al Shamsi received 10.8% and 10.4% respectively.
Despite Al Shaikh leading in the first round with 30.7% of the votes, Qarata closely followed with 22.3%, making it a tight race. Al Shaikh will need to secure the support of voters who initially backed other candidates in order to secure victory in the runoff. Despite this being Qarata’s first experience in electoral politics, he has proven himself to be a strong contender, securing a spot in the runoff with 1516 votes.
In comparison to the 2022 elections, Al Kooheji saw an increase in popularity, receiving 290 more votes in this supplementary election, totaling at 1368 votes. The runoff election for Muharraq’s First Constituency promises to be a closely contested battle, with both candidates vying for the seat with strong support from their respective bases. It will be interesting to see how the race plays out on Saturday, September 14th.
