The Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy is an opposition political organization in Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

 founded in 2005 with Hasan Mushaima

Hasan Mushaima

Hasan Mushaima is an opposition leader in Bahrain and the secretary-general of the Haq Movement, an important opposition party in Bahrain. He is campaigning for more democratic rights in Bahrain...

 as its Secretary general. Several of its leaders were previously in the leadership of the Al Wefaq

Al Wefaq

Al Wefaq National Islamic Society , also known as the Islamic National Accord Association, is a Bahraini political society, and the largest party in the Bahrain, both in terms of its membership and its results at the polls...

 society, but it also contains others, Ali Rabea

Ali Rabea

Ali Qasim Rabea is a leftist political activist in Bahrain, currently a leader of the Haq Movement. Before joining Haq he was part of Wa'ad. Rabea was elected to the 1973 National Assembly before it was dissolved. He has been an opposition activist calling for the restoration of democracy in Bahrain...

, a secular nationalist and former member of parliament previously associated with the National Democratic Action Society, and Shaikh Isa Al Jowder, a Sunni cleric.

Background

Haq opposed participation in the parliamentary elections because it considers the 2002 Constitution of Bahrain

Constitution of Bahrain

Bahrain has had two constitutions in its modern history. The first one was promulgated in 1973, and the second one in 2002.-Constitution of 1973:* Full text of the 1973 constitution...

 to be illegal and unilaterally imposed by King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah

Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is the King of Bahrain , having previously been its Emir . He is the son of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the previous Emir.-Early life and education:...

, replacing the 1973 Constitution.

Haq movement called on the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 November 15, 2006 to investigate allegations that a secret government grouping has been conspiring to fuel sectarian tensions and rig the results of upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections. In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan

Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...

 and delivered to Sayed Aqa, the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) Bahrain coordinator, Haq called for the forming of an international fact- finding committee to scrutinize the claims made in an August report by the Gulf Centre for Democratic Development

Gulf Centre for Democratic Development

The Gulf Centre for Democratic Development is a training, information, and advocacy institution dedicated to promoting and nurturing democratic values in the Gulf Co-operation Council countries as defined in the International Bill of Human Rights. It is a non-governmental organization based in...

 (GCDD).

The 240-page report, dubbed Bandar Gate after its co-author Salah Al Bandar

Salah Al Bandar

Dr Salah Al Bandar is a British citizen of Sudanese origin known for his role in revealing the Bandargate scandal in Bahrain. Al Bandar had been working as a strategic planning adviser to the Cabinet Affairs Ministry of Bahrain since October 2006...

 - a Briton of Sudanese origin who was deported in September to Britain after its publication - alleged that a ring masterminded by a government minister was secretly planning to manipulate the demographic makeup of the country, through the selective granting of citizenship

Prominent figures of Haq Movement

• Hasan Mushaima
  Hasan Mushaima
  Hasan Mushaima is an opposition leader in Bahrain and the secretary-general of the Haq Movement, an important opposition party in Bahrain. He is campaigning for more democratic rights in Bahrain...
  
   (Secretary general)
• Abdul Wahhab Hussain
• Abdul Jalil al-Singace
• Shaikh Isa al-Jowder
  Isa al-Jowder
  Sheikh Isa Abdullah Al Jowder is a Sunni cleric and nationalist political activist in Bahrain. He is a member of the Haq Movement. He was a signatory to both the 1992 and the 1994 petitions calling on the then Amir to reinstate the authority of the 1973 elected parliament .He was briefly arrested...
  
   (Sunni cleric)
• Ali Rabea
  Ali Rabea
  Ali Qasim Rabea is a leftist political activist in Bahrain, currently a leader of the Haq Movement. Before joining Haq he was part of Wa'ad. Rabea was elected to the 1973 National Assembly before it was dissolved. He has been an opposition activist calling for the restoration of democracy in Bahrain...
  
  
• Sayed Hadi Jawad al-Aali
• Abbas Abdul Aziz Nasser
• Layla Khalil Dishti