Type Bicameral | ||
 | ||
Houses Consultative CouncilCouncil of Representatives Chairman of the Consultative Council Ali Bin Saleh Al-SalehSince 24 November 2010 Speaker of the Council of Representatives Ahmed Bin Ibrahim Al-MullaSince 14 December 2014 Seats 8040 in the Consultative Council40 Representatives | ||
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.
Contents
- The National Assembly under the 1973 Constitution
- History of the National Assembly of Bahrain
- Members of the 1973 National Assembly
- References
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.
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.
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
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.