National Assembly (Bahrain)

The National Assembly (Arabic: المجلس الوطني البحريني, romanized: al-Majlis al-watani) is the bicameral legislative body^[1][2] of Bahrain. It consists 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	Bicameral
Houses	Consultative Council Council of Representatives
Leadership
Chairman of the Consultative Council	Salim bin Rashid Al-Khalifa since 15 December 2008
Speaker of the Council of Representatives	Ahmed bin Salman Al-Musallam since 12 December 2022
Structure
Seats	80 40 in the Consultative Council 40 Representatives
Consultative Council political groups	Independent (40)
Council of Representatives political groups	Independent (40)
Elections
Consultative Council voting system	Appointed by the King
Council of Representatives voting system	Two-round system
Last Council of Representatives election	12 November 2022
Meeting place
Manama
Website
www.shura.bh/en/

Latest election

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

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

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 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

• Council of Representatives of Bahrain
• Consultative Council of Bahrain
• History of Bahrain
• Politics of Bahrain
• Constitution of Bahrain
• List of legislatures by country