Voters have started casting their vote in the parliamentary by-election for Bahrain's Muharraq constituency.

Four candidates - Sameer Kadhem, Mubarak Mukhaima, Dr Abdulrahman Buali and Hind Bucheery - go head to head in the bypolls to fill the constituency eight seat vacated by Ghanim Al Buainain, who was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in April.

There are 8,128 registered eligible voters who can cast their ballots from 8am to 8pm at the Hidd Intermediate and Secondary Girls Schools and two general polling centres outside the constituency located at Bahrain City Centre and Bahrain International Airport.

Bahrainis living or travelling abroad have already cast their ballots at Bahrain's embassies and consulates in Amman, Cairo, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

If no candidate secures more than 50 per cent of the votes, a second round of voting will be held next Saturday for the top two candidates, with overseas voting on Tuesday.-TradeArabia News Service