List of political parties in Bahrain
Encyclopedia
Political parties from the former Communist Left to the Islamist Right sit in parliament in Bahrain
, but are known technically as Political Associations or Blocs. Unless a journalist or commentator is very specific with their use of language they are commonly referred to as Hizb, the Arabic
word for party.
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...
, but are known technically as Political Associations or Blocs. Unless a journalist or commentator is very specific with their use of language they are commonly referred to as Hizb, the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word for party.
Islamist
- Al AsalahAl AsalahThe Al Asalah Islamic Society is the main Salafist political party in Bahrain, with four MPs after 2006's general election .The party is the political wing of the Islamic Education Society...
- Al MenbarAl-Menbar Islamic SocietyAl Menbar National Islamic Society is the political wing of the Al Eslah Society in Bahrain, associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. A Sunni Islamist party, it is well organised through a network of mosques and seek to promote a conservative social agenda while not directly challenging the...
- Al WefaqAl WefaqAl 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...
- Islamic Action Party
Secular
- Al MeethaqAl MeethaqAl Meethaq , or the National Action Charter Society, is a liberal political party in Bahrain.It won no seats in the 2002 or 2006 general elections...
- Democratic Progressive Tribune - BahrainDemocratic Progressive Tribune - BahrainProgressive Democratic Tribune is a political outfit launched by returning exiles from the underground communist National Liberation Front - Bahrain in 2002. The group won three seats in the Bahraini parliament in the 2002 elections...
(al-Minbar ad-Dimokrati at-Taqadumi - Bahrain) - Economists BlocEconomists BlocThe Economists Bloc is a liberal political party in Bahrain which was represented by three MPs in the 2002-2006 parliament, but lost all its seats in the 2006 general election....
- National Democratic ActionNational Democratic ActionThe National Democratic Action Society - Wa'ad is Bahrain's largest leftist political party. It emerged out of the Popular Front, a radical clandestine opposition movement of Maoist, socialist and Arab nationalist orientation...
- National Justice MovementNational Justice MovementThe National Justice Movement , also known as the Al Adala Society, is a secular nationalist political party in Bahrain, founded on 5 March 2006 in Muharraq. It is led by former National Democratic Action lawyer, Abdullah Hashem...
- Nationalist Democratic Rally SocietyNationalist Democratic Rally SocietyNationalist Democratic Assembly , a political group attached to the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party in Bahrain. The organization is led by Rasul al-Jishi....
(Jami'at al-Tajammu' al-Qawmi al-Dimuqrati)
Opposition Parties
Not licensed by the Government- Al Wafa Islamic Party
- Bahrain Freedom MovementBahrain Freedom MovementBahrain Freedom Movement is a London based Bahraini opposition group which has its headquarters in a north London mosque...
(based in London) - Haq MovementHaq MovementThe Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy is an opposition political organization in Bahrain founded in 2005 with Hasan Mushaima as its Secretary general...
- Khalas Movement
Defunct and historic parties
- National Liberation Front - BahrainNational Liberation Front - BahrainThe National Liberation Front—Bahrain is a clandestine Marxist-Leninist party in Bahrain. It was founded on 15 February 1955, the first left party in the Arab states of the Gulf region...
- Popular Front for the Liberation of BahrainPopular Front for the Liberation of BahrainThe Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain was an underground political party in Bahrain with origins in the Arab Nationalist Movement. Its members were inclined towards the leftist Marxist trend within the ANM...
- Islamic Front for the Liberation of BahrainIslamic Front for the Liberation of BahrainThe Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain was a Shia resistance group active from the 1970s to the 1990s, that advocated democracy in Bahrain and the overthrow of the ruling Sunni Al Khalifa family. It was responsible for the failed 1981 coup attempt inspired by the Iranian revolution two...
See also
- Politics of BahrainPolitics of BahrainPolitics of Bahrain takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy, with an executive appointed by the King of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and a bi-cameral legislature, with the Chamber of Deputies elected by universal suffrage, and the Shura Council appointed directly by the king...
- List of political parties by country