Bahrain rejects accusations by the Shia opposition bloc that hundreds of its voters were prevented from voting in parliamentary elections.
Justice Minister Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali Al-Khalifa said there had been a few irregularities, but overall the vote had been fair.
The estimated turnout was "at least 67%", he said.
The electoral commission says the Shia al-Wifaq group won 18 out of 40 seats in the lower house of parliament in the first round of elections on Saturday.
The precise make-up of the lower house will be decided in a run-off next weekend.
Shias comprise the majority in Bahrain, but the kingdom's rulers are Sunni Muslims.
The BBC reports the election is the third since Bahrain became a constitutional monarchy in 2002. But it is a limited democracy with the elected members of the Council of Representatives holding only restricted powers.