Manama: Bahrain will hold its first parliamentary elections on Saturday, since a failed protest against the monarchy in 2011, though the Shiite opposition has called for a boycott of the elections.

About 400,000 eligible Bahraini voters are expected to cast their ballots at 53 polling stations across the country in the parliamentary and municipal elections. In these elections, 419 candidates would be contesting from 40 constituencies.

The election executive committee has completed all preparations at the polling centres to receive the voters and monitors, under the supervision of no less than 56 judges and 300 monitors from eight non-governmental organisations, Xinhua reported, citing the Bahrain News Agency.

Some 300 local journalists and about 100 foreign media staff are to cover the elections, according to the country's ministry of state information affairs.

The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs Friday, urged all Bahrainis to exercise their constitutional right and take part in the elections.

However, opposition groups, headed by the Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, would be boycotting the polling.

They say that the Shiite majority is discriminated by the Sunni monarchy and that the parliament is subject to the king's wishes and lacks any real power.

Protests by radical groups against the electoral process are expected in some areas, but the authorities said security plans were in place to deal with any such attempt.