General elections were held in Bahrain 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, the country's largest political party, as well as the National Democratic Action Society, the Nationalist Democratic Rally Society, and Islamic Action Society. 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 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 Al-Meethaq ( ar, جمعية ميثاق العمل الوطني, translit=Jamʿiyya Mīṯāq al-ʿAmal al-Waṭaniyy; ) is a liberal political party in Bahrain. It was founded by Sunni and Shi'a businessmen from well-known families in 2002. It ...

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 Bahrain 2002 in Bahrain National Assembly (Bahrain)