The National Democratic Labour Action Society – Wa'ad ( ar, جمعية العمل الوطني الديمقراطي – وعد) is Bahrain's largest

leftist 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 ...

political party.

History and profile

It emerged from the Popular Front, a "radical" clandestine opposition movement of socialist and

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...

orientation. Under the reform process initiated by Bahrain's King Hamad, the leaders of the Popular Front returned from exile to participate in the political process through the National Democratic Labour Action (NDLA). The party's origins lie in the split within the Left in the Arab world in the 1960s, between a pro-Moscow camp and a pro-China camp, with the NDLA's leaders backing Beijing. The party is the first licensed political group in any of the

Arab states of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...

. Historically, the Left in Bahrain had been very strong, partly as a result of the creation of a local working class through the Kingdom's

industrialisation Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

with the discovery of oil in the 1930s; however the waning of Arab nationalism, the collapse of communism as an ideology and the rise of the Islamist Right have marginalised the NDLA and robbed it of much of its traditional support. The party was established by returning exiles in 2002. The current leader of the party is Fouad Seyadi, who was elected after the general assembly of the party in November 2016. One of the current known figures of the party is Ibrahim Sharif Al-Sayed, who took over in 2005 until 2012 from Abdul-Rahman Al Nuaimi. In 2005 the party renamed itself ''Wa'ad'' ( ar, وعد), which translates to "Promise". Other prominent members include: Abdul-Nabi Alekri, Ebrahim KamalAldeen, Sami Seyadi,

Ali Salih ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

and Munira Fakhro The party suffered a very disappointing result in 2002's municipal elections when none of its candidates were elected in any constituency. Despite this, the NDLA's leaders are widely respected and retain a great deal of influence in Bahraini society. The party boycotted 2002's parliamentary elections, but took part in the

Bahraini parliamentary election of 2006 General elections were held in Bahrain in November and December 2006 to elect the forty members of the Council of Representatives. The first round of voting was held on 25 November, with a second round on 2 December 2006. Voter turnout was 72% ...

; among its candidates was its vice president and former

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

academic, Munira Fakhro, who contested an

Isa Town Isa Town ( ar, مدينة عيسى, ''Madīnat ʿĪsā'') is a middle class town located in Bahrain, in the north central part of the country. Etymology The name ''Isa'' refers to Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, the ruler of Bahrain from 1961 to 1999 ...

constituency against Salah Ali of

Al-Menbar Islamic Society The Al-Menber National Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية المنبر الوطني الإسلامي, ) is the political wing of the Sunni Islamist Al Eslah Society in Bahrain and Bahrain's branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The president and ...

. In June 2017, the party was banned on terrorism charges. The ban was criticised by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy. Lynn Maalouf of Amnesty International stated that "the suspension of Waad is a flagrant attack on freedom of expression and association".

Organizational structure

The Highest Authority of Wa'ad is its General Assembly which all Wa'ad active members has the right to attend, which hold its meetings every 2 years. The General Assembly elects a Central Committee which holds the legislative power until the next General assembly. The Central Committee elects in its first meeting a General Secretary and a political bureau which act as governing body for the party until the next General Assembly.

References

External links

National Democratic Action

List of Central Committee members, 2006 (from Gulf Daily News)
{{Authority control 2002 establishments in Bahrain Arab nationalism in Bahrain Arab Nationalist Movement breakaway groups Arab nationalist political parties Bahraini uprising of 2011 Banned socialist parties Organizations of the Arab Spring Political parties established in 2002 Political parties in Bahrain Socialist parties in Bahrain

History and profile

Organizational structure

See also

References

External links