 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2022) |
Council of Representatives مجلس النواب Majlis an-nuwab | |
|---|---|
| 6th Legislative Session | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | Lower house of theNational Assembly |
| Leadership | |
Ahmed bin Salman Al-Musallam since 12 December 2022 | |
Secretary-General | Abdullah bin Khalaf Al Dosari since 27 October 2018 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 40 members |
_diagram.svg) | |
Political groups | Independents (40) |
| Elections | |
| Two-round system | |
Last election | 12-19 November 2022 |
Next election | 12 November 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
| Manama | |
| Website | |
| www | |
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|---|
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| Judiciary |
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| Administrative divisions(governorates) |
Related topics |
 Bahrain portal |
TheCouncil of Representatives (Arabic:مجلس النواب,romanized: Majlis an-nuwab), sometimes translated as the "Chamber of Deputies", is the name given to thelower house of theBahraini National Assembly, thebicameral nationallegislative body ofBahrain.
The council was created by the2002 Constitution of Bahrain and consists of forty members elected by universal suffrage. Members are elected for four-year terms from single-member constituencies using atwo-round system, with a second round being held of the top two candidates if no candidate receives 50% of the vote in the first round.[1] Candidates must be Bahraini citizens and at least 30 years old.[1]
The forty seats of the Council of Representatives together with the forty royally-appointed seats of theConsultative Council form theBahraini National Assembly.
The last election for the council was the2022 Bahraini general election held on 12 November 2018, with the runoff on 19 November. Following the election, Ahmed bin Salman Al-Musallam was on 12 December 2022 elected chairman of the council.
The first election under the 2002 Constitution was the2002 Bahraini general election, which was boycotted by theShia IslamistAl Wefaq, the country's largest political party, as well as the left-wingNational Democratic Action Society, theNationalist Democratic Rally Society, and the radical Shia IslamistIslamic Action Society. They claimed that the 2002 Constitution gave too much power to the unelectedConsultative Council, and demanded a reform of the constitution. Although all candidates ran as independents due to the ban on political parties, six political societies gained representation in the Council of Representatives. The Islamic Forum andal Asalah both won six seats, Rabita al-Islami won three seats, the Shura Society and the National Democratic Assembly both won two seats, whilstal Meethaq won one.[2]
At the2006 Bahraini general election, the four parties that boycotted the 2002 elections fielded candidates. To meet the challenge posed by Al Wefaq, the two main Sunni Islamist parties, thesalafistAsalah and theMuslim Brotherhood-affiliatedAl-Menbar Islamic Society, agreed to form a coalition to maximise their votes. At the election, Al Wefaq won 17 seats, Al-Menbar won 7 seats and Asalah won 5 seats. 11 seats were won by independents.
At the2010 Bahraini general election, Al Wefaq won 18 seats, Al-Menbar won 2 seats and Asalah won 3 seats. 17 seats were won by independents. Two months later, theArab Spring protests that started in Tunisia, spread to Bahrain in February 2011 with the start of thePearl uprising. In a brutal crackdown, backed by 1,500 troops fromSaudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates, as part of thePeninsula Shield Force, the government cleared the main protest site at thePearl Roundabout. All 18 members of Al-Wefaq resigned from the Council in protest at governmental actions during the uprising[3] and the party was temporarily banned. The vacant seats were won by independents in thesubsequent by-elections.
At the2014 Bahraini general election, Al Wefaq again boycotted the election.[4] Independents won 37 seats with Sunni Islamists losing two of their five seats. The number of Shiite MPs fell to 14 as a result of the Al-Wefaq boycott.
At the2018 Bahraini general election, Al-Wefaq and secularWaad were barred from fielding candidates, prompting renewed calls for a boycott. A court had banned Al Wefaq in 2016 for "harbouring terrorism", inciting violence and encouraging demonstrations which threatened to spark sectarian strife.[5] According to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television and international print media report, Bahrain's highest court dissolved Al Wefaq and confiscated the group's funds in July 2016.[6] Waad was banned on terrorism charges in June 2017.[7] At the election, independents won 35 seats, Al Asalah won 3 seats andAl -Minbar, (effectively the successor to theNational Liberation Front – Bahrain) won 2 seats.
Under theconstitution, the Council of Representatives can propose constitutional amendments, legislation, accept or refuse decrees of law.
Under the constitution, the Council of Representatives can express its wishes regarding public matters, question cabinet ministers in writing or person, table avote of no confidence against cabinet ministers, a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister is called a "motion of non-cooperation".
A motion of non-cooperation against the Prime Minister can be held only after a threshold of ten members of the Council of Representatives bring forward a request, it is then voted on and requires a simple majority to pass. The council deliberates & then has another vote to pass a motion of non-cooperation. The motion requires a majority of two-thirds to pass. If passed it is under the King's discretion to either relieve the Prime Minister from their post & appoint a new cabinet or dissolve the Council of Representatives.[8]
Before the amendment of the constitution in 2012, a motion of non-cooperation required a majority of two-thirds of the Council of Representatives to bring forward a request. The entireNational Assembly consisting of both houses then had to convene to hold a vote of a motion of non-cooperation. A majority of two-thirds was required to pass a motion of non-cooperation.[9]
To date, the Council of Representatives has not brought forward a motion of non-cooperation.
In March 2012, the Council of Representatives for the first time since the council's establishment in 2002 voted to reject a royaldecree issued by KingHamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The decree was to increase the government's share in the revenues ofTamkeen, the country's labour fund, from 20% to 50%.[10]
Sheikh Khaled bin Ali al-Khalifa, theMinister of Justice, is also the head of the electoral commission.
