Editing Politics of Bahrain (section)

===Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa===
The repression ended after [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]] became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain's monarch opens parliament after a span of nearly 30 years |author=Malik, Adnan |publisher=Associated Press  |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-70367092.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004010101/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-70367092.html |archive-date=4 October 2012 |url-status=dead |date=14 December 2002 }}</ref> He instituted elections for parliament, gave women the right to vote, and released all political prisoners.<ref name="AI_Bahr_promising">{{Cite journal|title=Bahrain: Promising human rights reform must continue |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |date=13 March 2001 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde11/005/2001/en/ |format=PDF |access-date=9 February 2011  }}</ref> A referendum on 14–15 February 2001 massively supported the [[National Action Charter of Bahrain|National Action Charter]],<ref name="UNDP-POGAR">{{cite web|title=Country Theme: Elections: Bahrain |publisher=[[United Nations Development Program|UNDP]]-Programme on Governance in the Arab Region |year=2011 |url=http://www.pogar.org/countries/theme.aspx?t=3&cid=2 |access-date=9 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510021433/http://www.pogar.org/countries/theme.aspx?t=3&cid=2 |archive-date=10 May 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> which was adopted on 14 February 2002.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Kingdom of Bahrain: The Constitutional Changes |url=http://www.theestimate.com/public/022202b.html |access-date=17 February 2011 |newspaper=The Estimate: Political and Security Analysis of the Islamic World and its Neighbors |date=22 February 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003120816/http://www.theestimate.com/public/022202b.html |archive-date=3 October 2009 }}</ref>

An elected representative body was not reintroduced until the rule of Sheikh Isa's son, Sheikh [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]], who succeeded as head of state in 1999, and initiated wide-ranging political reforms scrapping the restrictive state security laws, [[Women's political rights in Bahrain|giving women the right to vote]], freeing all [[political prisoner]]s and holding parliamentary elections. The first poll was the [[2002 Bahraini general election]], with MPs serving four‑year terms; the second parliamentary election was the [[2006 Bahraini general election]].

The Kingdom of Bahrain has been ruled by HM King Hamad bin Isa since 1999. The Al Khalifa family has ruled Bahrain since the late 1700s. The current ruler Hamad bin Isa became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999. In 2002, he declared Bahrain a kingdom and installed the king.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sv.ripleybelieves.com/countries-with-monarchy-6480|title=Länder Med Monarki &#124; 2021|first=Lance|last=Bowen|website=sv.ripleybelieves.com|date=January 2023 }}</ref>

The reforms were based on the National Action Charter, a package of political changes that was endorsed by the people of Bahrain on 14 February 2001, in a popular referendum that saw a 98.4% vote in favour. Among other issues, the referendum paved the way for national elections and for the country to become a constitutional monarchy, changing the country's official name from the State of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Bahrain (a change which took effect in February 2002). Parliamentary elections took place on 26 October 2002 with the new legislature, the National Assembly, beginning work the following month.

The [[Al Wefaq|opposition led by Islamic parties]] boycotted the 2002 election in protest at the [[bicameral]] nature of the parliament, because the appointed upper chamber, the Shura Council, has the power to veto legislation. Shura members have responded by pointing out that an appointed upper chamber is a feature of long-established democracies such as the [[United Kingdom]] (where the upper chamber has the power to delay, but no power to veto legislation)
and [[Canada]].

However, the principle behind the [[Al Wefaq]]'s boycott, that only elected MPs should have the right to legislate, was undermined when, in response to proposed changes to the family law to give women more rights, Al Wefaq [http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=125278&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28220 stated] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051214193450/http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=125278&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28220 |date=2005-12-14 }} that no one except religious leaders had the authority to amend the law because MPs could 'misinterpret the word of God.'

Democratisation has greatly enhanced clerical influence, through the ability of religious leaders to deliver the votes of their congregations to candidates. Sheikh Abdullah Al Ghraifi, the deputy head of the Islamic Scholars Council, gave a clear warning of the clerics' intent: "We have at our disposition 150,000 votes that we will forward to the MPs, and I hope that they understand this message clearly."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10024782.html |title=Shiite council warns MPS who support family law &#124; GulfNews.com |website=www.gulfnews.com |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125011636/http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10024782.html |archive-date=25 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Over the showdown with the government and women's rights activists on the introduction of stronger legal rights for women, clerics have taken a lead in mobilising the opposition and threatened to instruct their supporters to vote against MPs that support women's rights.

The opening up of politics has seen big gains for both Shī´a and Sunnī Islamic parties in elections, which has given them a parliamentary platform to pursue their policies. This has meant that what is termed "morality issues" have moved further up the political agenda with parties launching campaigns to impose bans on female mannequins displaying lingerie in shop windows, sorcery and the hanging of underwear on washing lines. Analysts of democratisation in the Middle East cite the Islamic parties' references to respect for human rights in their justification for these programmes as evidence that these groups can serve as a progressive force in the region.

The near-total dominance of religious parties in elections has given new prominence to clerics within the political system, with the most senior Shia religious leader, Sheikh [[Isa Qassim]], playing an extremely important role. According to one academic paper, "In fact, it seems that few decisions can be arrived at in [[Al Wefaq]]&nbsp;– and in the whole country, for that matter&nbsp;– without prior consultation with [[Isa Qassim]], ranging from questions with regard to the planned codification of the personal status law to participate in elections".<ref>[http://www.iue.it/RSCAS/WP-Texts/06_27.pdf Voices in Parliament, Debates in Majalis, Banners on the Street: Avenues of Political Participation in Bahrain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927234454/http://www.iue.it/RSCAS/WP-Texts/06_27.pdf |date=2007-09-27 }}, Katja Niethammar, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, [[European University Institute]], 2006</ref> In 2007, Al Wefaq-backed parliamentary investigations were credited with forcing the government to remove ministers who had frequently clashed with MPs: the Minister of Health, Dr Nada Haffadh and the Minister of Information, Dr Mohammed Abdul Gaffar.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130126163454/http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10156074.html Bahrain ministries' probe to continue] ''Gulf News'', 25 September 2007</ref>

Bahraini liberals have responded to the growing power of [[List of political parties in Bahrain|religious parties]] by organising themselves to campaign through civil society to defend basic personal freedoms from being legislated away. In November 2005, [[al Muntada]], a grouping of liberal academics, launched "[[We Have A Right]]", a campaign to explain to the public why personal freedoms matter and why they need to be defended.

Both Sunnī and Shī´a Islamic parties suffered a setback in March 2006 when twenty municipal councillors, most of whom represented religious parties, went missing in [[Bangkok]] on an unscheduled stopover when returning from a conference in Malaysia [http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/1yr_arc_Articles.asp?Article=138111&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28360&date=3-15-2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524201202/http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/1yr_arc_Articles.asp?Article=138111&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28360&date=3-15-2006 |date=2006-05-24 }}. After the missing councillors eventually arrived in Bahrain they defended their Bangkok stay, telling journalists it was a "fact-finding mission", explaining: "We benefited a lot from the trip to Thailand because we saw how they managed their transport, landscaping and roads."

[[Women's political rights in Bahrain]] saw an important step forward when women were granted the right to vote and stand in national elections for the first time in the 2002 election. However, no women were elected to office in that year's polls and instead Shī´a and Sunnī Islamic parties dominated the election, collectively winning a majority of seats. In response to the failure of women candidates, six were appointed to the Shura Council, which also includes representatives of the Kingdom's indigenous [[Jewish]] and [[Christians|Christian]] communities. The country's first female cabinet minister was appointed in 2004 when [[Nada Haffadh|Dr. Nada Haffadh]] became Minister of Health, while the quasi-governmental women's group, the [[Supreme Council for Women]], trained female candidates to take part in the 2006 general election.

The King created the Supreme Judicial Council in 2000 to regulate the country's courts and institutionalize the separation of the administrative and judicial branches of government. The King is the head of the council.

On 11–12 November 2005, Bahrain hosted the [[Forum for the Future (Bahrain 2005)|Forum for the Future]] bringing together leaders from the Middle East and G8 countries to discuss political and economic reform in the region.

Shia and Sunni Islamic parties have both criticised the government over the composition of the appointed Shura Council, after it was given a strongly [[Liberalism|liberal]] majority, with [[Al Meethaq]] being the biggest group in the chamber. Critics allege that the government is seeking to use the Shura Council as a liberal bulwark to prevent clerical domination of politics.

Dominated by Islamic and tribal MPs, liberals have criticised the lower house for trying to impose a restrictive social agenda and curtailing freedoms. Those MPs who do not have an Islamic ideological agenda have been criticised for tending to approach politics not as a way of promoting principles, but as a means of securing government jobs and investment in their constituencies. The only voices that regularly speak in favour of [[human rights]] and [[democracy|democratic]] values in the lower house are the former communists of the [[Progressive Democratic Tribune|Democratic Bloc]] and the secular [[Economists Bloc]].

Antigovernment factions state that the five municipal councils elected in 2002 do not have enough powers. Councillors of Islamic parties have repeatedly complained that their policies are being frustrated by lack of cooperation from central government. This has encouraged councillors to use at times innovative methods to push forward their policies. In January 2006, Dr Salah Al Jowler, an [[Asalah]] councillor in [[Muharraq]] discussed how the municipality would enforce a decree that would stipulate that all new buildings be fitted with one-way windows so that passersby would be unable to see residents within their homes (after concerns were raised about peeping toms). Dr Al Jowder explained that the municipalities would enforce the measure by using their control over the electricity supply: "We can't stop someone from building if they do not promise to install one-way windows. But we can make them put in one-way windows if they want permission to install electricity." [http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=133438&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28310] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209171528/http://gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=133438&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28310 |date=2006-02-09 }}

In October 2005, Al Wefaq and the former [[Maoist]] [[National Democratic Action]] agreed to register under the new Political Societies Law, but continue to object to it because it prevented parties from receiving foreign funding. The move has been widely seen as indicating that the two parties will take part in the 2006 general election, particularly as they have faced considerable pressure from party members to participate. Once the law took effect, Al Wefaq reversed its previous opposition and described it as a [https://archive.today/20130103024434/http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/1yr_arc_Articles.asp?Article=133080&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28306&date=1-20-2006 'big milestone for Bahrain'].

To revitalise the Left before the September 2006 general election, leading lawyer, Abdullah Hashem launched the [[National Justice Movement]] in March 2006. While Bahrain's liberals have sought to use the opening of civil society to campaign against the domination of Islamic parties in politics, with a campaign to protect personal freedoms, [[We Have A Right]], led by the civic group, [[Al Muntada]].

Bahrain's five governorates are administered by the Minister of State for Municipalities and the Environment in conjunction with each Governorate's Governor. A complex system of courts, based on diverse legal sources, including Sunni and Shi'a [[Sharia]] (religious law), tribal law, and other civil codes and regulation, was created with the help of British advisers in the early twentieth century. This judiciary administers the legal code and reviews laws to ensure their constitutionality.

Major [[Bahraini uprising (2011–present)|protests]] occurred in 2011, coincident with protests in many [[Arab Spring|other countries]] in the Arab world.  The protesters selected 14 February as a day of protest to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the National Action Charter.<ref name="bchr_gov_panic">{{cite web| title=In Fear of Transmitting the Tunisian and Egyptian Demonstrations to Bahrain: Blocking a Facebook Group that Calls People to go Down the Streets and Demonstrate against the Authority's Policy| publisher =[[Bahrain Centre for Human Rights]] | date =2011-02-06| url =http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/3721 | access-date =2011-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302202756/http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/3721 |archive-date=2011-03-02  |url-status=live }}</ref>