National Assembly (Bahrain)

The National Assembly (Arabic: المجلس الوطني البحريني) is the legislative body[1][2] of Bahrain. Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the 40 elected members of the Council of Representatives (the lower house) and the 40 royally-appointed members of the Consultative Council (the upper house). The joint session of the National Assembly is chaired by the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, or by the Speaker of the Consultative Council if the former is absent.[3]

National Assembly

المجلس الوطني البحريني

al-majlis al-watani
Type
Type
HousesConsultative Council
Council of Representatives
Leadership
Salim bin Rashid Al-Khalifa
since 15 December 2008
Ahmed bin Salman Al-Musallam
since 12 December 2022
Structure
Seats80
40 in the Consultative Council
40 Representatives
Consultative Council political groups
  Independent (40)
  Independent (40)
Elections
Appointed by the King
Two-round system
12 November 2022
Meeting place
Manama
Website
www.shura.bh/en/

Latest election

National Assembly under the 1973 constitution

Under the 1973 Constitution (Article 43), the National Assembly was a single chamber parliament consisting of forty members elected by "universal suffrage". However, the then Amir, Shaikh Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah decreed that women would not be considered as "universal suffrage" and were not allowed to vote in the 1973 parliamentary elections.[4]

History of the National Assembly of Bahrain

The first ever National Assembly in Bahrain was elected in 1973 under the statutes of the first constitution which was promulgated of that same year. In 1975, the Assembly was dissolved by the then Emir Shaikh Isa ibn Salman al-Khalifa because it refused to pass the government sponsored State Security Law of 1974. The Emir subsequently did not allow the Assembly to meet again or hold elections during his lifetime.

Members of the 1973 National Assembly

  1. Hassan Al Jishi (President of National Assembly)
  2. Khalifa Ahmed Al Bin Ali (Vice-President of National Assembly)
  3. Ali Qasim Rabea
  4. Isa Ahmed Qasim
  5. Abdulhadi Khalaf
  6. Rasool Al-Jishi
  7. Abdullah Ali Al-Moawada
  8. Mohammed Jaber Al-Sabah
  9. Ali Bin Ebrahim Abdul Aal
  10. Jassim Mohamed Murad
  11. Isa Hassan Al-Thawadi
  12. Ibrahim Mohammed Hassan Fakhro
  13. Abdul Amir Al-Jamri
  14. Abdullah Mansoor Isa
  15. Alawi Makki Alharkhat
  16. Khalid Ibrahim Al-Thawadi
  17. Mustafa Mohammed Al-Qassab
  18. Abdullah Al-Shaikh Mohammed Al-Madani
  19. Abbas Mohammed Ali
  20. Yousif Salman Kamal
  21. Abdul Aziz Mansoor Al-Aali
  22. Hassan Ali Al-Mutawaj
  23. Salman Al shaikh Mohammed
  24. Ibrahim bin Salman al Khalifa
  25. Khalifa Al Dhahrani
  26. Mohammed Salman Ahmed Hammad
  27. Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Harmas (now Al Harmesi Al-Hajeri)
  28. Mohsin Hameed Al-Marhoon
  29. Ali Saleh Al-Saleh
  30. Hamad Abdullah Abel

After the death of Isa ibn Salman al-Khalifa in 1999, his son Shaikh Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah, the new ruler of Bahrain promulgated the Constitution of 2002. That same year elections were held for the Council of Representatives and he appointed the members for the Consultative Council, forming the first National Assembly since 1975.

See also

References

  1. Diamond, Larry; Plattner, Marc F. (17 April 2014). Democratization and Authoritarianism in the Arab World - Google Books. ISBN 9781421414171. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  2. McMurray, David A.; Ufheil-Somers, Amanda (2013). The Arab Revolts: Dispatches on Militant Democracy in the Middle East - Google Books. ISBN 978-0253009685. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  3. "Constitute" (PDF). www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  4. "From ethnic to national and vice versa". Archived from the original on 16 July 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2006.
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