Progressive Democratic Tribune ( ar, جمعية المنبر الديمقراطي التقدمي), often referred to as al-Minbar, is a political organization launched by returning exiles from the underground communist
National Liberation Front – Bahrain
The National Liberation Front—Bahrain ( ar, جبهة التحرير الوطني—البحرين) is a communist party in Bahrain. It was founded on 15 February 1955, the first leftist party in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Among the ...
in 2001.
Ahmad Al-Thawadi Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Thawadi ( ar, احمد إبراهيم الذوادي) was the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Tribune, a leftist political party in the Kingdom of Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), offi ...
was its founding chairman. Effectively al-Minbar came to act as a successor to the NLF.
The party has been opposed to sectarian politics and sought to represent constituents whatever their creed. It was also a consistent champion of women's rights and freedom of speech, meaning that its MPs often found themselves allied with liberals. One of its three MPs, Abdulhadi Marhoon, served as the Deputy Speaker from 2002 to 2006.
Al-Minbar also has a youth organization,
Shabeeba Society of Bahrain, that is active among the students and young workers with a network of regional and international connections with other
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
democratic youth organizations.
Ahead of the
2006 election, al-Minbar launched the electoral bloc 'National Unity', which had 9 candidates for 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 ...
, 5 of whom were members of al-Minbar. None of its candidates were elected. At the
2018 election, al-Minbar won two seats for the Council of Representatives.
References
External links
al-Minbar website
2001 establishments in Bahrain
Arab nationalism in Bahrain
Arab socialist political parties
Bahraini uprising of 2011
Communist parties in Bahrain
Nationalist parties in Asia
Organizations of the Arab Spring
Political parties established in 2001
Political parties in Bahrain
{{Bahrain-party-stub
International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties