Bahrain

Shura CouncilCouncil of Representatives

Shura Council

Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Monarchy
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Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Bicameral
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IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
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Data on women

empty

Basic information > About parliament

Speaker

Speaker
Ali Bin Saleh Al-Saleh (Male)
Year of birth
1942
Additional information
Re-appointed on 24 Nov. 2010, on 9 Dec. 2014, on 9 Dec. 2018 and on 27 Nov. 2022.
See historical data for this field.

Secretary general

Secretary General
Kareema Alabbasi (Female)
Notes Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
Appointed on 13 Oct. 2022.

Members

Current number of members, by sex
Men The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
30
Women The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
10
See historical data for this field.
Percentage of women Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
25% See historical data for this field.

Age

Average age of all members Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
62.20
See historical data for this field.
Youngest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
39
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Youngest member
Ali Hussain Alshehabi (Male)
Oldest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
66
Oldest member
Jamal Fakhro (Male)
Total number of MPs, 45 years of age or younger
3 See historical data for this field.
Total number of MPs, 46 years of age or older
37 See historical data for this field.
Total per sex
Total of male
30 See historical data for this field.
Total of female
10 See historical data for this field.
Total per age interval
18-20
0
21-30
0
31-40
0 See historical data for this field.
41-45
3 See historical data for this field.
46-50
4 See historical data for this field.
51-60
8 See historical data for this field.
61-70
10 See historical data for this field.
71-80
10 See historical data for this field.
81-90
5 See historical data for this field.
91 and over
0
Number of members, by age
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Totals per age interval 0 0 0 3 4 8 10 10 5 0
Total <= 45: 3 Total >= 46: 37
Male 0 0 0 3 3 5 7 8 4 0 30
Female 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 2 1 0 10
Percentage of members, by age
Age as last election or renewalOverallMaleFemale
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger0%0%0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger0%0%0%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger7.5%7.5%0%

Reserved seats and quotas

Electoral quota for women Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
No
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Elections > Election results

Results

Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
30
Number of women elected
10
Percentage of women elected The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women elected in the election and the number of seats at stake at the election.
25%
Number of women after election or renewal, by mode of designation
Women Appointed
10

New legislature

Total number of men after the election The total number of male parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
30
Total number of women after the election The total number of female parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
10
Elections > Historical data on women

Women's suffrage

Date of independence For countries that become independent after 1940
1971
Women’s right to vote
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1951
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
Local
Notes Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
Women are given the right to vote for municipal councils.
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1973
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Restricted
Notes Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
According to the Constitution (6 December 1973), all citizens are equal before the law; however the Electoral Law that was adopted as a follow up, did not recognize women's suffrage. Women were consequently not able to exercise electoral rights in the only legislative elections held in Bahrain in December 1973.
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
2002
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
Women voted in 2001 for the referendum on the New Constitution, which came into being in 2002 and confirmed women's suffrage. Prior to independence, women were given the right to vote for municipal councils in 1951. According to the Constitution (6 December 1973), all citizens are equal before the law; however the Electoral Law that was adopted as a follow up, did not recognize women's suffrage. Women were consequently not able to exercise electoral rights in the only legislative elections held in Bahrain in December 1973.
Women’s right to stand for election
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1973
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes Stand for Election: Additional Notes on right to stand for election
According to the Constitution in force (6 December 1973), all citizens are equal before the law; however, women were not able to exercise electoral rights in the only legislative elections held in Bahrain in December 1973
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1999
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
Local
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes Stand for Election: Additional Notes on right to stand for election
Women are allowed to stand for election for municipal councils (right to vote for councils in 1951).
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
2002
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes Stand for Election: Additional Notes on right to stand for election
Women voted in 2001 for the referendum on the New Constitution, which came into being in 2002 and confirmed women's suffrage. According to the Constitution (6 December 1973), all citizens are equal before the law; however the Electoral Law that was adopted as a follow up, did not recognize women's suffrage. Women were consequently not able to exercise electoral rights in the only legislative elections held in Bahrain in December 1973. In 1999, women were allowed to stand for election for municipal councils, which they had been able to vote for since 1951.
First woman in parliament
First woman in parliament Year in which first woman entered parliament
2002
First woman speaker
Year of first woman speaker Date at which, for the first time in the country's parliamentary history, a woman became Presiding Officer of Parliament or of one of its Houses.
2018