The National Assembly consists of two Chambers: the Consultative Council and the Chamber of Deputies.The Consultative Council is composed of forty members appointed by Royal Order.The Chamber of Deputies comprises forty members elected by direct, secret general ballot in accordance with the provisions of the law.
A member of the Consultative Council must be a Bahraini, enjoy full political and civil rights, be on an electoral list, must not be less than a full thirty five years of age by the Gregorian Calendar on the day of appointment, and must be experienced or have rendered distinguished services to the Nation. The term of membership of the Consultative Council is four years, and members may be reappointed when their term has expired.
A member of the Chamber of Deputies must meet the following requirements: He must be a Bahraini enjoying his full civil and political rights, and his name must be on an electoral list. On the day of his election he must be not less than thirty years of age by the Gregorian Calendar. He must read and write Arabic fluently.
The Chamber fo Deputies facilitates 5 permament committees as follows; Committee on Legislative and Legal Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security, Committee on Financial and Economic Affairs, Services Committee, and Committee on Public Utilities and Environment. In addition, temporary committees are set upon necessity by agenda.
Election 2006
The Chamber of Deputies General Election was held on November 25, 2006. The first voting ob November 25 fixed 30 seats out of 40, and the rest of 10 seats were fixed by the second voting held on December 2. As a result, one woman was elected without a contest.
The election was held by the single-seat constituency system. The constituencies in Bahrain are: Capital (8 districts), Center (9 districts), Muharraq (8 districts), North (9 districts), South (6 districts).
At the same time with the Chamber of Deputies General Election, the Unified Local Elections were held. Each Local Municipalities of the Capital, Center, Muharraq, North and South has its own Local Assembly of 10 seats. Each ten seats of the five Local Assemblies are contested by elections respectively. As for the Directors-General of the Local Municipalities, they are appointed by the King.