General elections were held in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

on 24 October 2002 to elect the forty members of the

Council of Representatives The Council of Representatives (''Majlis an-nuwab''), sometimes translated as the "Chamber of Deputies", is the name given to the lower house of the Bahraini National Assembly, the national legislative body of Bahrain. The council was created ...

. They were the second general elections in the country's history, and the first since the dissolution of the 1973 National Assembly. The elections were the first to be held under the 2002 constitution, with voter turnout reported to be 53.2%.Bahrain Schedules Second Round for Parliamentary Elections
IFES Election Guide, 28 October 2002 For the first time, women had the right to vote and the right to stand in national elections.

Campaign

The elections were boycotted by

Al Wefaq Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية الوفاق الوطني الإسلامية; ), sometimes shortened to simply Al-Wefaq, was a Shi'a Bahraini political party, that operates clandestinely after being ordered by the highest co ...

, the country's largest political party, as well as the

National Democratic Action Society The National Democratic Labour Action Society – Wa'ad ( ar, جمعية العمل الوطني الديمقراطي – وعد) is Bahrain's largest leftist political party. History and profile It emerged from the Popular Front, a "radical" c ...

, the

Nationalist Democratic Rally Society The Nationalist Democratic Assembly (, ) is a political party in Bahrain. It is the Bahraini regional branch of the Iraqi-led Ba'ath Party. The party is led by Secretary General Hassan Ali and Deputy Secretary General Mahmoud Kassab. It was esta ...

, and

Islamic Action Society The Islamic Action Society ( ar, جمعية العمل الإسلامي ''Jamʿīyah al-ʿAmal al-ʾIslāmī''), sometimes shortened to ʿAmal ( ar, أمل), was one of the main Islamist political parties in Bahrain, and mainly appealed to Shī� ...

. They claimed that the 2002 constitution gave too much power to the unelected Consultative Council, and demanded a reform of the constitution.

Results

Although all candidates ran as independents due to the ban on political parties, six political societies gained representation in the

. The Islamic Forum and

al Asalah The Al-Asalah Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية الأصالة الإسلامية) is the main Sunni Salafist political party in Bahrain. The party is the political wing of the Islamic Education Society (''Al-Tarbiya Al-Islamiya'') which fund ...

both won six seats, Rabita al-Islami won three seats, the Shura Society and the National Democratic Assembly both won two seats, whilst al Meethaq won one.Bahrain’s October 24 and 31, 2002 Legislative Elections
The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs

References

External links

2002 Bahrain election results
Psephos {{Bahraini elections Elections in Bahrain

2002 in Bahrain National Assembly (Bahrain)