FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2018 05

Get free ride to polling station

Contact number Elections create a stir is• 36082208 The service, will• be available throughout the on social media pages ballot-casting period TDT |

TDT | Manama didates and their response at the he 2018 Elections Ex- same time, so with a proper and Tecutive Committee Harpreet Kaur effective content, a candidate announced yesterday that should easily make use of those they will provide transport o matter where it is hap- responses.” services to voters who are pening, Social media Social media can “Moreover, this year in Bah- unable to reach polling sta- Nnowadays has become influence voters rain, the elections would turn tions to cast their votes. an extremely powerful weapon if the candidates out as a defining one as social The committee has set As in shaping our political strate- use it in the right media marketing is striving to 36082208 as a contact gies. Here in Bahrain also things way reach out to first-time and young number through which a heads are not that different, especially voters.” voter can send a message when viewed in the backdrop of ALI SABKAR “Compared to the previous on WhatsApp or call up di- to polls, GLOBAL CO-CHAIR OF SOCIAL Saturday’s election. MEDIA CLUB INC. elections, we see that a lot of rectly. Tribune To find out how our election people are using social media “A car will be sent imme- is being influenced by social platforms to reach out to indi- diately to take him/her to sat with media users, Tribune sat with viduals. the polling station,” a state- Social Media expert Ali Sabkar, “Also according to the statis- ment by the committee said. social who told us that the changes are tics more than 60 per cent of The service, accord - substantial. Twitter is also experiencing the candidates are using social ing to the committee, media Citing statistics released by a massive engagement of can- media to engage their voters will be available through- Social Media Club Bahrain in didates and potential voters. through their Instagram ac- out the ballot-casting expert Ali association with Lucydia.com, As of now, there are 58 elec - count,” said Ali Sabkar. period. Ali Sabkar of Global Co-Chair tion focused twitter accounts “This also means that a lot The cars will be available Sabkar to of Social Media Club Inc. told with a total of 147, 171 followers. KNOW WHAT of people are using hashtags to in: Tribune that they have identi- “The official elections Hashtag promote themselves, which also Governorate: find out fied as many as 179 Instagram on Twitter were used in a total indicates that a lot of youth have Delmon Bakery, Hidd, Al how our accounts created for the election 18,619 tweets by 3,900 accounts entered election fray this time.” Muntazah Market, Arad, campaign. “This year there are followed by 1,472,870 engage- There are 81892 Another major change found Jassim Market, Busaiteen 179 Instagram accounts for 293 ment received by users. More- during the election campaign is and Halat Bumaher Hall. candidates candidates where the total fol- over, 17,579,005 accounts were eligible voters in the the reduced use of conventional Capital Governorate: lowers have jumped to 579,977.” reached with 139,486,688 post 10-constituency Capital advertising platforms such as Bab Bahrain, Al-Barhama and voters Explaining, he said there is impressions.” Governorate, 79213 tents and billboards. “Instead, residential flats, Umm Al are using a substantial jump in the num- The communication process, in the 8-constituency a lot of candidates have hired Hassam Market and Sal - ber of times a post of hashtag Ali Sabkar said, has now become Muharraq Governorate, youth to promote them on social maniya Medical Hospital social appears. “While 1,159 accounts more direct, fast and complex. 125870 in the 12-con- media, handle their social media Northern Governorate: used official election hashtag “This has also led to a process of stituency Northern page and help them run their Country Mall, Budaya Club, media on 19,677 posts that received shrinking words and expanding campaign.” Reef Mall, Al Muntazah 1,472,870 engagements which access at the same time.” Governorate and 78492 “Moreover we have also seen Market, (10th in our almost was viewed and reached Citing elections results from in the 10-constituency a lot of interaction from the rest roundabout) and Al-Lawzi to12,865,080 accounts out of other countries and from Bah- Southern Governorate of the countries in this year’s housing complex. elections which 364,638,391 got impres- rain’s previous elections, he con- elections due to social media, Southern Governorate: sions. Impressions in terms, that firms that social media can in- the 29 embassies around the Seef Mall, , Al-Nas- how many times the post or the fluence voters if the candidates world have been extremely ac- er Mosque, Fort, hashtags appeared on social me- use it in the right way. tive in promoting the elections Hunainiyah and Abdullah dia” “Voters can view posts of can- in Bahrain,” Ali added. Mall, Riffa Electoral silence begins today

Manama ahead of the scheduled date campaigns will be suspended of the polling, during which including that on social media, ahrain’s 2018 Election Ex- the electoral campaigns will be text messages, as well as con- Becutive Committee has suspended throughout Bahrain. tacting voters or being around announced that the electoral The Election Executive Com- polling and ballot counting silence begins today, 24 hours mittee said all forms of electoral committees. Al Ahlia Insurance Notice of Closing of Branch

This is to notify the public that operations of Manama branch of Solidarity Bahrain B.S.C (“The Company”) located in Building 122, Flat 44, Road 1605 Block 316 Manama Centre, Manama will be closed by 31st December 2018. The company will continue to service its customers through the main branch at Seef District and the Company's branches listed below. For further enquiries, please call the customer service center on phone number 17130000 or visit the website www.solidarity.com.bh. Branches of the Company in Kingdom of Bahrain

Seef Mall Branch Arad Branch Shop (Unit) no. 123, Seef Mall Flat/Shop 2, Building 56 Road 40 Building 2102, Road 2825 Block 240 – Arad Block 428 - Seef District Sitra Mall Branch Flat/Shop 27, Building 574, Road 31 Board of Trustees Chairman of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Co-existence Dr. Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa Sanad Branch Block 611- Alhamriya Al Khalifa receiving yesterday the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem Building/shop 2414, Road 4571 II, during a visit to Beit Al Quran, in the presence of its founder Dr. Abdellatif Kanoo and members from the centre’s Istiqlal Highway, Block 745 - Sanad Salmabad Branch Board of Trustees. The Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II expressed Building/shop 1405, Road 426 happiness about visiting Beit Al Quran and hailed the pioneering role of the Kingdom of Bahrain in fostering the culture Block 704 - Salmabad of religious coexistence, social cohesion and human dignity.