He Won a 98% Referendum on Democratic Reform — Then Wrote the New Constitution Himself, Without Asking Anyone
Bahrain — Constitution Profile
| 📅 Current Constitution | February 14, 2002 — promulgated by royal decree without public consultation |
| 🏛️ Government | Constitutional Monarchy (king retains dominant executive and legislative powers) |
| 🌍 Capital | Manama |
| 📄 Previous Constitution | 1973 — suspended August 1975, replaced by emergency laws for 27 years |
| ✏️ Key Contradiction | Elected lower house and appointed upper house have equal powers — nullifying the elected chamber |
| 👑 Most Dramatic Moment | 2011 Arab Spring — Saudi and Emirati troops entered Bahrain to crush protests |
In February 2001, over 98 percent of Bahrainis voted in favour of a National Action Charter that promised them an elected parliament with real legislative power. The man who called that referendum then spent the next twelve months writing a new constitution on his own, without consulting the people who had voted, and when he was done he published it by royal decree, promoted himself from emir to king, and handed the appointed upper house of parliament the exact same legislative powers as the elected lower house — making the elected chamber, in practice, almost impossible to use. The 98 percent had voted for something. They got something else entirely.
The First Constitution Said "Universal Suffrage" — Then Decreed That Women Weren't Included
Bahrain's first modern constitution arrived in December 1973, two years after independence from Britain. In 1972, the then ruler Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa issued a decree providing for the election of a Constituent Assembly to draft and ratify a constitution. The draft constitution provided for a unicameral legislature consisting of 44 members — 30 elected by universal suffrage, plus 14 royally-appointed government ministers who were ex officio members.
The word "universal" came with a quiet asterisk. Although Article 43 of the 1973 Constitution stated that the Assembly was to be elected by "universal suffrage," the conditional clause "in accordance with the provisions of the electoral law" allowed the regime to prevent women from participating. A constitution that wrote "universal suffrage" into its text was accompanied by a decree that removed half the population from its definition of "universal." The emir then dissolved the National Assembly in August 1975, citing its inability to cooperate with the government — specifically, it had refused to ratify a proposed State Security Law that would allow arrest and detention without trial for up to three years. Although the constitution stipulated that new elections had to take place within two months of a dissolution, this did not occur. One year later, in August 1976, Shaikh Isa announced that the National Assembly would remain dissolved indefinitely. The country was governed under emergency laws from 1975 to 2002.
He Inherited a Throne — and Almost No Real Power to Go With It
When Hamad became Emir in March 1999 after his father's death, the situation was more complicated than a simple succession. His father Sheikh Isa had been content to be an Emir and had delegated most of his executive power to his younger brother, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. In so doing he effectively reduced the power of the Emir to that of a purely nominal head of state. Real power resided with Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa who, as Prime Minister, became the de facto ruler of the country from 1975.
Thus, as king, Hamad had considerably more power than his father. The constitutional reforms he introduced weren't purely altruistic — they also served to reclaim executive authority from a Prime Minister who had wielded it unchecked for a generation. By transforming Bahrain into a constitutional monarchy with himself at the head, Hamad simultaneously gave the country a new political framework and gave himself powers his own father had never actually held.
A 98 Percent Referendum — and Then a Constitution Written Behind Closed Doors
In 2001, Hamad put the National Action Charter to a public vote. He released political prisoners, abolished the State Security Law, held a constitutional referendum approved with 98.4%, and in February 2002 proclaimed Bahrain a constitutional monarchy with himself as king. The Charter had promised an elected parliament. The opposition leaders who campaigned for a yes vote understood that the appointed upper house would have only advisory powers — leaving real legislative authority with the elected chamber.
That understanding turned out to be wrong. In 2002, Emir Hamad promulgated the 2002 Constitution without any public consultation, in which both the elected and the royally-appointed chambers of parliament were given equal legislative powers, going back on his public promise of 2001. The opposition believed that the King was authorizing a constitution in which all legislative power belonged to the elected National Assembly, and that the appointed upper house would only have the power of consultation. Instead, the new constitution established an appointed Upper House that shared legislative power with the elected lower body. For a bill to become law, it had to pass both chambers — meaning the 40 royally-appointed members could simply block anything the 40 elected members passed.
The Elected House and the Appointed House Have Identical Power — by Constitutional Design
The architecture of Bahrain's parliament is the key to understanding how the constitution actually functions. The National Assembly is bicameral with the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, having 40 members elected in single-seat constituencies by universal suffrage for a four-year term. The upper house, the Shura Council, has 40 members appointed by the King of Bahrain.
All legislation must be passed by a majority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Shura Council, and must be ratified by the King. The result is a system where an elected parliament exists on paper, but anything it passes can be blocked by 40 people the king himself chose. The new constitution issued in 2002 provided for an elected lower house, but at the same time created an appointed upper house to nullify its power. As a result, parliamentary elections due to be held that year were boycotted by four major political societies, including the largest Shia Islamist group and the largest leftist political society.
A Sunni Monarchy Over a Shia Majority — the Tension Built Into Every Constitutional Debate
Underneath every constitutional argument in Bahrain runs a demographic fact that the country's political structure has never fully resolved. The monarchy in Bahrain is a Sunni dynasty formed in 1783 when the Al Khalifa family took power. However, the economically and politically underprivileged Shi'a constitute 70% of Bahrain's population.
The 2002 constitution called for equality between Sunnis and Shi'is and guaranteed civil and property rights to all citizens. In practice, the Shia majority has consistently complained that the constitutional framework — with its appointed upper house, royally-controlled judiciary, and prohibition on formal political parties — leaves the majority population structurally unable to translate its numbers into political power. Many of the high-ranking judges in Bahrain are either members of the ruling family or non-Bahrainis with two-year renewable contracts — and to secure renewal of these contracts, judges may consider it necessary to take decisions not unfavourable to the government.
When the Arab Spring Arrived, Foreign Troops Came With It
In February 2011, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, thousands of Bahrainis gathered at Pearl Roundabout in Manama to demand political reform, a new constitution, and a more representative parliament. Security forces cleared the site in pre-dawn raids on February 17, killing and injuring protesters. On March 14, roughly 1,000 Saudi and 500 Emirati troops entered Bahrain under a GCC security mandate.
Hamad declared a State of National Safety for three months. In June 2011, he commissioned the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, headed by respected human rights lawyer M. Cherif Bassiouni, to look into the events surrounding the unrest. The Commission's findings documented widespread torture and wrongful detention. However, all the senior officials responsible for the crackdown remained in their posts, and the government continued many of the abusive practices detailed in the report, including the imprisonment of opposition activists. A constitution that had promised civil rights without discrimination had been defended, in its moment of crisis, by troops from a neighbouring country.
Constitution at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Independence from Britain | August 15, 1971 |
| First Constitution Enacted | December 1973 — unicameral, "universal suffrage" (women excluded by decree) |
| National Assembly Refused State Security Law | 1974–1975 |
| Constitution Suspended / Assembly Dissolved | August 1975 |
| Indefinite Dissolution Announced | August 1976 |
| Emergency Rule Period | 1975–2002 (27 years) |
| Hamad Becomes Emir | March 6, 1999 |
| National Action Charter Referendum | February 14–15, 2001 — approved by 98.4% |
| 2002 Constitution Promulgated (by royal decree) | February 14, 2002 — without public consultation |
| Hamad Declares Himself King | February 14, 2002 |
| Parliamentary Elections Boycotted by Opposition | October 2002 |
| Arab Spring Protests Begin (Pearl Roundabout) | February 14, 2011 |
| Saudi and Emirati Troops Enter Bahrain | March 14, 2011 |
| Bassiouni Commission Report | November 2011 — documented torture, wrongful detention |
| Constitutional Amendments (Parliament Powers) | May 2012 |
📥 Read the Constitution of Bahrain
Read the complete, official text of the 2002 Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain:
👉 Read the Constitution of Bahrain — Full Text (Constitute Project)
A constitution that wrote "universal suffrage" into its text — then excluded women by decree. A 98 percent vote for democratic reform, followed by a constitution written alone and published without asking anyone. An elected parliament and an appointed parliament with identical powers, defended in 2011 by troops from a neighbouring country. What part of Bahrain's story surprised you most? Tell us in the comments below.
This article reflects an editorial reading of publicly available constitutional text and reporting, intended for general understanding rather than legal interpretation. Readers are encouraged to consult the original constitutional text linked above to form their own view.
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