National Assembly (Bahrain)

National Assembly
Type
Type
Bicameral
Houses Council of Representatives
Consultative Council
Seats 80 members (40 and 40)
Meeting place
Manama
Website
www.nuwab.gov.bh
www.shura.gov.bh
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The National Assembly is the name of both chambers of the Bahraini parliament when sitting in joint session, as laid out in the Constitution of 2002.

It has 80 seats formed from 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).

It is chaired by the Speaker of the Consultative Council, or by the Speaker of the Council of Representatives if the former is absent.

Latest election

 Summary of the 23 October and 30 October 2010 Council of Representatives of Bahrain elections results
Party Ideology Seats
Al Wefaq Shia Islamist 18
Al Asalah Sunni Salafist 3
Al-Menbar Islamic Society Sunni Islamist 2
Independents Various 17
Total 40
Source: "Independents the biggest winners". Gulf Daily News. 1 November 2010.

The 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.[1]

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 Mohammed 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 Abdullah Harmas (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. ↑ http://www.hf.uib.no/smi/pao/khalaf.html

External links