National Assembly (Bahrain) Explained

National Assembly
Native Name:المجلس الوطني البحريني
Native Name Lang:ar
Transcription Name:al-majlis al-watani
Coa Pic:Coat of Arms of The Kingdom of Bahrain.svg
Coa Res:100px
Election1:15 December 2008
Election2:12 December 2022
Members:80
40 in the Consultative Council
40 Representatives
Structure1:Consultative Council (Bahrain) diagram.svg
Structure1 Res:250px
Structure2:Consultative Council (Bahrain) diagram.svg
Structure2 Res:250px
Political Groups1: Independent (40)
Political Groups2: Independent (40)
Session Res:250px

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]

Latest election

See main article: 2022 Bahraini general 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

See main article: Bahraini parliamentary election, 1973. 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

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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Democratization and Authoritarianism in the Arab World - Google Books . 2014-04-17 . 9781421414171 . 2019-05-16. Diamond . Larry . Plattner . Marc F. . JHU Press .
  2. Book: The Arab Revolts: Dispatches on Militant Democracy in the Middle East - Google Books . 978-0253009685 . 2019-05-16. McMurray . David A. . Ufheil-Somers . Amanda . 2013 . Indiana University Press .
  3. Web site: Constitute . www.constituteproject.org . 9 December 2019.
  4. Web site: From ethnic to national and vice versa . 2006-07-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060716180006/http://www.hf.uib.no/smi/pao/khalaf.html . 2006-07-16 .