1973 Bahraini general election

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1973 Bahraini general election
← 1972 12 December 1973 2002 →
30 of the 44 seats in the National Assembly
Turnout78.4%
The religious block in Parliament, showing from right to left: Sheikh Abdul Amir al-Jamri, Abbas Al-Rayes and Ayatollah Isa Qassim
Politics of Bahrain
Coat of arms of Bahrain.svg

Arab League Member State of the Arab League

Constitution
Monarchy
Cabinet
National Assembly
  • Consultative Council
    Chairman
  • Council of Representatives
    Speaker
Judiciary
Elections
Administrative divisions (governorates)
Foreign relations
Related topics
Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain portal
  • Other countries
  • v
  • t

General elections were held in Bahrain for the first time on 12 December 1973.[1] 30 seats out of the 44-seated unicameral National Assembly were contested, the other 14 were ex officio.[2] Of the 24,883 registered voters, 19,509 cast a ballot, giving a voter turnout of 78.4%.[3]

Two distinct political blocs amongst the elected members; the "People's Bloc" consisted of eight Shia and Sunni members elected from urban areas and associated with left-wing and nationalist organizations, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, the National Liberation Front – Bahrain or the Baathist movement. The 'Religious Bloc' was made up of six Shia members mostly from rural constituencies. The remaining members were independents with shifting positions.[4]

Electoral system[]

The elections were held under the 1973 constitution. The 44-seat National Assembly had thirty members elected by a franchise restricted to male citizens, with an additional 14 ministers of the royally-appointed government becoming ex officio members.[4]

Elected members[]

The elected members of the 1973 national assembly were:

Constituency Elected Member Bloc[5] Votes[6] Position
1 Rasool Al-Jishi 759
1 Khalid Ibrahim Al-Thawadi 691
2 Abdulhadi Khalaf 711
2 Hassan Al Jishi 582 President
3 Mohammed Salman Ahmed Hammad 288
4 Mohammed Abdullah Harmas 304
4 Mohsin Hameed Al-Marhoon People's 221
5 Ali Saleh Al-Saleh 468
6 Hamad Abdullah Abul 311
7 Ali Ebrahim Abdul Aal 207
8 Abdullah Ali Al-Moawada 580
8 Jassim Mohammed Murad 596
9 Ali Qasim Rabea People's 573
9 Mohammed Jaber Al-Sabah People's 341
10 Isa Hassan Al-Thawadi 557
10 Ibrahim Mohammed Hassan Fakhro 488
11 Khalifa Ahmed Al Bin Ali 388 Vice-President
12 Abdullah Mansoor Isa 650
13 Mustafa Mohammed Al-Qassab Religious 665
13 Alawi Makki Alsharakhat 633
14 Abdullah Al-Shaikh Mohammed Al-Madani Religious 771 Secretary
15 Isa Ahmed Qasim Religious 1079
15 Abdul Amir al-Jamri Religious 817
16 Abbas Mohammed Ali Religious 324
17 Yousif Salman Kamal 359
18 Abdul Aziz Mansoor Al-Aali 631
19 Hassan Ali Al-Mutawaj Religious 585
19 Salman Al shaikh Mohammed Religious 495
20 Ibrahim bin Salman al Khalifa 572
20 Khalifa Al Dhahrani 250

Aftermath[]

In 1975 the Assembly was dissolved by the then ruler Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa because it refused to pass the government sponsored State Security Law of 1974. Isa subsequently refused to allow the Assembly to meet again or hold elections during his lifetime. The next parliamentary elections were held in 2002 after a gap of 27 years. During that period, Bahrain was run by the royally-appointed government under emergency laws.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p53 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
  2. ^ "Majlis Al-Nuwab (Council of Representatives)" (PDF). INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  3. ^ Nohlen et al., p54
  4. ^ a b c Bahrain, Federal Research Division, 2004, Kessinger Publishing, pp 97 - 98
  5. ^ «الكتلة الدينية» في برلمان 1973 Al Wasat News (in Arabic)
  6. ^ انتخابات المجلس الوطني عام 1973 (2) Archived 2014-08-19 at the Wayback Machine Akhnar al-Khaleej (in Arabic)
Retrieved from ""