Manama (AFP) - Bahrain went to the polls Saturday for its first legislative elections since a failed pro-democracy uprising in 2011, with the opposition boycotting the vote in the tiny Gulf monarchy.The key US ally remains divided nearly four years after security forces in the Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom crushed Arab Spring-inspired protests led by majority Shiites.Al-Wefaq, the main opposition group, warned on the eve of the vote that failure by the kingdom's rulers to ease their "monopoly" on power could trigger a surge in violence.Clashes between young demonstrators and security forces erupted in Shiite villages outside the capital Manama ahead of the polls, according to witnesses.Plumes of smoke were seen rising from blazing tyres placed in the streets of several districts.Bahrain's electorate of almost 350,000 is being called to choose 40 deputies.