General elections were held in Bahrain for the first time on 12 December 1973.[1] 30 of the 44 seats in the 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%.[3]
 | ||
| ||
30 of the 44 seats in the National Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 78.40% | |
|
| ||
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
editThe 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
editThe 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
editIn 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
edit- ^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p53 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
- ^ "Majlis Al-Nuwab (Council of Representatives)" (PDF). INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ Nohlen et al., p54
- ^ a b c Bahrain, Federal Research Division, 2004, Kessinger Publishing, pp 97 - 98
- ^ «الكتلة الدينية» في برلمان 1973 Al Wasat News (in Arabic)
- ^ انتخابات المجلس الوطني عام 1973 (2) Archived 2014-08-19 at the Wayback Machine Akhnar al-Khaleej (in Arabic)