Voters in Bahrain cast ballots Saturday in the island kingdom's first full parliamentary election since Arab Spring-inspired protests erupted four years ago, but a boycott called by the country's opposition threatens to overshadow the poll.
A collection of opposition groups including al-Wefaq, the country's most organized and popular Shiite group, is urging supporters to stay away from the polls. Al-Wefaq accuses the government of not taking seriously enough reform efforts and improving reconciliation between supporters of Bahrain's Sunni monarchy and an opposition movement dominated by the country's Shiite majority.