Politics of Bahrain

Politics of Bahrain takes place since 2002 in a framework of a constitutional monarchy where the government is appointed by the King of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The head of the government since 1971 is Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and the Crown Prince is Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who serves as Commander of the Bahrain Defence Force. The parliament is a bi-cameral legislature, with the Chamber of Deputies elected by universal suffrage, and the Shura Council appointed directly by the king. MP Khalifa Al Dhahrani is the Speaker of Parliament.

In 1973, the ruler, Sheikh Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa, instituted reforms based on a constitution. The constitution enshrined the hereditary leadership on the al-Khalifa family and called for the establishment of a 44‑member National Assembly. Thirty members were elected by eligible voters and 14 were appointed by the ruler. The National Assembly was not empowered with legislative powers, rather it was closer to a public forum where petitions were heard and government legislation and policies were presented, debated and criticized, though elected members of the assembly sought to gain legislative powers. The government did not acquiesce and the ruler continued to issue laws by decree and in 1974 the issuance of the security law sparked a political crisis between certain members of the assembly and the government. The security laws granted state authorities extraordinary powers to arrest and detain suspects deemed to threaten national security. A bloc formed within the National Assembly which was opposed to the security laws and the manner in which the government imposed the law. The crisis came to a head in August 1975 when Sheikh Isa dissolved the National Assembly. An elected representative body was not reintroduced until the rule of Sheikh Isa’s son, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

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