Manama: Three women were among the 30 Bahrainis who became councillors after the results of the municipal elections held over two rounds were announced.

Fatima Al Qatari carried the First Constituency in the Northern Governorate, Budoor Bin Rajab won in the Seventh Constituency in the Northern Governorate and Sabah Al Dossari obtained the seat of the Seventh Constituency in the Muharraq Governorate.

Only one woman won in the 2010 elections, a breakthrough for women after they failed to win any seat in 2002 and 2006.

While Budoor won in the first round held on November 22, Fatima and Sabah had to wait until the second round on November 29 to beat their rivals for the seats.

The municipal elections were held concurrently with the parliamentary elections and resulted in 23 new faces making their debut.

In the Muharraq Governorate, six out of the eight winners are new faces while in the Southern Governorate, the score was split evenly with five new councilors making their debut.

The municipal council of the Northern Governorate will be made up entirely of new members after they won the 12 constituencies.

Only three of Bahrain’s four governorates have elected municipal councils after the parliament decided to grant the Capital a special status.