At Stake in this Election:        

• 40 members of the Council of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nuwab) of the Kingdom of Bahrain 

Government Structure: 

• Chief of State: King HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Salman bin HAMDAD Al Khalifa (since 2020) 

• Assembly: Bicameral National Assembly (al-Jamiyh al-Watani) consisting of the Shura Council (Majlis Al-Shura) with 40 seats and the Council of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nuwab) with 40 seats. 

Electoral System: 

• The King is a hereditary position. 

• The Prime Minister is appointed directly by the King. 

• The 40 members of the Shura Council (Majlis Al-Shura) are appointed by the King. 

• The 40 members of the Council of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nuwab) are elected by absolute majority from single-member constituencies. If no member receives an absolute majority in the first round, a second round is held. They are elected to four-year terms.  

Main Parties in this Election: *  

• Al Asalah Islamic Society 

• Leader: Ghanim Al-Buaneen 

• Seats won in last election: 3 

• Independents ** 

• Leader: N/A 

• Seats won in last election: 35 

*Formal political parties are illegal under Bahrainan law. They operate under a term known as political societies.  

** The government has dissolved the two major opposition parties, Al Wefaq and Wa’ad, resulting in many former party candidates running as independents.  

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 1,540,558 (2022 est.)¹ 

• Registered Voters: 365,467 (2018)² 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 593,959 (2022 est.)³ 

• Is Bahrain a signatory to CEDAW: No 

• Has Bahrain ratified CEDAW: Yes (Accession) (19 Jun 2002)⁴ 

• Gender Quota: None 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 6 out of 40 in the Council of Representatives (15%); 9 out of 40 in the Shura Council (22.5%)⁵ 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: Rank 35 at 0.875 (2022)⁶ 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A 

Disability Data: 

• Is Bahrain a signatory to CRPD: Yes (25 Jun 2007)⁷ 

• Has Bahrain ratified CRPD: Yes (22 Sep 2011)⁸ 

• Population with a disability: 231,084 (2022 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Bahrain: No 

1. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bahrain/#people-and-society 

2. https://www.idea.int/data-tools/country-view/63/40 

3. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bahrain/#people-and-society 

4. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en

5. https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=9&year=2022

6. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/BHR

7. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en

8. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en