(ANSAmed) – DUBAI, SEPTEMBER 24 – Bahrain is returning to polling stations to renew its parliament November 22 with a completely redesigned electoral map.

The recent history of the rich and unstable Gulf emirate, which has a large Shiite majority but is governed by a Sunni dynasty, is marked by social background of sectarian divisions.

The Shiite community has always complained of marginalization and lack of democracy. The occasional outbreaks of violence between protesters and police forces resulted in larger, more articulated city square protests in February and March, 2011.

In Bahrain, popular uprising in the wake of the “Arab spring” – which had shaken the entire Middle East region – was drastically suppressed with an iron fist, ending in more than 40 deaths, hundreds of arrests and claims of torture and abuse. The national dialogue, begun the following year to reconnect all parts of society, is still stuttering. Bahraini voters will be called upon to elect 40 deputies representing four provinces, redesigned after the formal dissolution of the central government by royal decree last Monday. The redistribution of province districts was redesigned to take into account population density, eclipsing the previous criteria based on geographic area. (ANSAmed).