<span style="color: #222222;">Bahrain is holding a parliamentary election from which opposition groups have been barred in a crackdown on dissent in the small Persian Gulf island. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Polls opened in the country today to choose 293 candidates for Parliament. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The country's two main opposition groups, the Al-Wefaq and Wa'ad, were barred from fielding candidates and they called for a boycott of the elections which they have described a farce.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Gulf kingdom that has been hit by ongoing unrest since 2011, when security forces crushed protests demanding elected leaders.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">International rights groups and experts have questioned the value of a parliamentary election in which the opposition is not allowed to participate.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Amnesty International yesterday expressed "grave concerns" over a campaign of suppression by the ruling Al Khalifah regime against political dissidents and pro-democracy activists.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Since February 2011, Bahraini people have been holding peaceful protest rallies on an almost daily basis, demanding that the Al Khalifah family relinquish power and allow the establishment of a just system representing all Bahrainis. </span><br />''