Bahrainis were voting Saturday in the final round of the Gulf kingdom's first legislative elections since the minority Sunni authorities crushed pro-democracy protests led by the Shiite majority in 2011.

Controversy clouded last weekend's first round and its focus on turnout, a key marker of the validity of the election, after the opposition boycotted it, calling it a "farce".

The official BNA news agency said people flocked to polling stations in large numbers Saturday morning to choose from among 68 candidates to fill the 34 out of 40 seats not decided last week.

However, residents of Shiite-populated villages said turnout had been low there.

Tight security measures were in place when voting opened at 0500 GMT, and there were no major incidents reported by midday.

The electoral commission put turnout at 52.6 percent in Sunday's first round, but the Shiite opposition said only 30 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots.

Both sides traded accusations of irregularities. The opposition said tens of thousands of people were pressured to vote, while the authorities accused Shiites of preventing others from reaching polling stations.

Since the uprising began in February 2011, at least 89 people are estimated to have been killed in clashes with security forces, and hundreds arrested and tried.

The tiny Gulf state and key US ally remains divided nearly four years after the protests.

Polling stations are due to close at 1700 GMT.