As Bahrain gears to hold its fifth parliamentary and municipal elections, the impending implementation of Value-Added-Tax and rising inflation rate are driving discussions between candidates and voters across the island-kingdom.

The general elections for the lower house of parliament and the municipality council will be held on November 24 with many districts expecting to hold a run-off vote on December 1 as independent and past Members of Parliament are expected to fight incumbents for their seats.

But a key issue across the governorates is the topic of VAT and how it may affect constituents in the coming year. Bahraini legislators approved a draft law on October 7 that would impose VAT for the first time in the kingdom, starting from 2019. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the first two countries introducing VAT at a 5 percent rate, as part of a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) agreement in 2018.